Chewy Fruitcake Meringues Recipes

CHEWY FRUITCAKE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until golden and fragrant, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly; chop.
• Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a mixer set over a pot of simmering water (do not let bottom touch water). Whisk until eggs are foamy and sugar dissolves (mixture should feel smooth and warm to the touch when rubbed between your fingers). Transfer to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add cream of tartar, and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, 7 to 9 minutes.
• Combine hazelnuts, fruits, and candied citron and peel in a bowl. Fold maraschino syrup and all but 1/4 cup of fruit-nut mixture into meringue. Drop heaping tablespoons of meringue mixture onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Top with remaining fruit-nut mixture.
• Bake, rotating sheets and rack positions halfway through, until meringues have darkened slightly and are tacky on surfaces but no longer sticky, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Turn oven off (do not open door); let cool in oven until dry and crisp on outsides, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature, between sheets of parchment, up to 5 days. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

FRUIT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whip egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue to whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar while whipping, try to add slowly so that it does not fall to the bottom of the bowl. Whip until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Fold in the nuts, fruit and coconut. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour in the preheated oven, until firm. Cool on baking sheets, away from drafts.

CRISP CHEWY MERINGUES

Steps:

• Using a whisk or electric mixer, whip the egg whites and salt into peaks. Add the vanilla, and continue beating to stiff peaks.
• Stir the cream of tartar into the regular sugar and whisk into the whites very gradually, a spoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and the sugar has dissolved.
• Sift together the icing sugar and cornstarch. Sift over the meringue and gently fold until fully incorporated.
• Pipe or spoon the meringues onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 225 degrees F/110 degrees C until cream-coloured and crisp on top when tapped, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the meringues from the oven. Cool on the trays. Store in an air-tight container.

CHEWY MARBLED MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 120C.
• Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
• Using electric beater whisk egg whites and salt till soft peaks form.
• Gradually add sugar, a spoonful at a time.
• Whisk between each addition until combined.
• Continue to whisk for 2 minutes until thick and glossy and all sugar dissolved.
• Divide mix i half.
• Sprinkle 3 or 4 drops food colouring into one batch.
• Fold through the mix with metal spoon until colouring is just streaked through mix.
• Repeat with second batch and second colour.
• Use 2 teaspoons to spoon mix onto tray to form meringues.
• Place on oven, reduce temp to 90 C, bake for 1 hour.
• Turn off oven and allow meringues to cool in oven.

ULTIMATE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

LIGHTEST EVER MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and set up a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff - the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in roughly half the sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny. If you like meringues with soft, mallowy centres, just add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar to the mix along with the sugar.
• Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the end of the piping bag to seal. Gently squeeze until meringue is visible at the end of the nozzle, then begin piping onto your lined baking sheets. Pipe spiralling circles, about 6cm wide and 3 layers high - like you would ice a cupcake to make roughly 18. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins.
• Remove from the oven - they should peel easily away from the parchment - and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.
• To make Cream & chocolate meringues for dessert, put 100g dark chocolate in a glass bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water. Carefully dip the base of each meringue in to coat, then place on their sides on a plate or tray to set. While the chocolate sets, whip 300ml double cream. Assemble the meringues in pairs and sandwich their chocolate bases together with a good spoonful of cream. Delicious served with ice cream, raspberry coulis or fresh berries.

RAINBOW SWIRL MERINGUES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Add the sugar to a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. The edges may begin to caramelize - this is good! Remove the sugar from the oven and leave the oven on.
• In a large clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric hand mixer on low speed until foamy, then add the salt. Continue whipping on high speed until medium peaks form.
• Add the toasted sugar to the egg whites 1 tablespoon at a time, increasing the mixer speed gradually as you add more sugar. Once all of the sugar is incorporated, continue whipping for 5-7 minutes, until the meringue is very thick and shiny.
• Add in vanilla, just whipping until incorporated.
• Prop open a piping bag or zip-top bag in a tall drinking glass. Using wooden skewers, lightly paint 2 thin stripes of different-colored gel food coloring on opposite sides of the bag. Paint additional bags with more colors, if desired.
• Fill each bag with the meringue batter, dividing evenly amongst different colors, if using.
• Pipe 1-inch (2-cm) wide "kisses" of meringue onto a baking sheet about ½ inch (1 cm) apart.
• Bake for about 1 hour, or until you can easily lift a kiss off of the paper.
• Cool the meringues on the baking sheet at room temperature until no longer warm.
• To fill, pipe buttercream icing around the edge of a cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another cookie.
• Enjoy!