Snake Meringues Recipes

INDIVIDUAL MERINGUE SWAN LAKES

Steps:

• For the meringue: Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 200 degrees F.
• Beat the cream of tartar, salt and egg whites in a very clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until thick and opaque, about 1 minute more. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar about 1/4 cup at a time and beat until shiny stiff peaks form, 5 to 10 additional minutes.
• Invert a large baking sheet and top it with a large piece of parchment. Spoon leveled 1/3-cup portions of meringue onto the parchment, leaving ample space between each portion. Use a small offset spatula to smooth each portion of meringue into a 5-inch round.
• Use a 3-tablespoon ice cream scoop to scoop 4 leveled mounds of meringue around the perimeter of each 5-inch round. Use the offset spatula to lightly smooth out the mounds so they touch each other and mimic the look of snow drifts. If needed, use the back of a spoon to create a large divot in the center of the meringue so there is enough room to pour in the creme anglaise later.
• Fit a large pastry bag with a 1/4-inch round tip and scoop the remaining meringue into the bag.
• Invert a second large baking sheet and top it with a piece of parchment. Spread out half of the black sanding sugar onto one corner of the parchment. Pipe one 2 1/2-inch-long by 1 1/2-inch-wide teardrop-shaped mound of meringue for the black swan's body, two 2-inch-long by 1-inch-wide teardrop-shaped mounds for the black swan's wings and one 3-inch S-shaped swan neck with head directly onto the black sanding sugar. Use a wooden toothpick to pull out the top of the head to create a beak. Sprinkle the meringue pieces with the remaining black sanding sugar. Use a pastry brush to brush away the excess sanding sugar, but reserve to use later.
• On the remainder of the parchment, pipe five 2 1/2-inch-long by 1 1/2-inch-wide teardrop-shaped mounds of meringue for the white swans' bodies, ten 2-inch-long by 1-inch-wide teardrop-shaped mounds for the white swans' wings and eight 3-inch S-shaped swan necks with heads (you will have extra heads/necks, in case of breakage). Again, use a wooden toothpick to pull out the top of each head to create a beak. These do not spread much while baking, but leave at least 1/4 inch of space between each piece of meringue.
• Bake both baking sheets of meringue until dry and crisp, 3 to 4 hours. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
• For the creme anglaise: Whisk together the milk, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
• Whisk together the granulated sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl until well combined, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Slowly whisk in the remaining hot milk, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan and continue cooking at a slow simmer, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens to the consistency of thin gravy, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the sauce into a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
• For the whipped cream: Put the heavy cream in a medium bowl and whisk vigorously to stiff peaks.
• To assemble: Use a small offset spatula to gently loosen the meringue pieces from the parchment. Transfer the 6 lakes onto individual plates. Spoon 2 leveled tablespoons of the whipped cream onto each swan base. Gently insert a swan head/neck toward the tip of each base, then press 1 set of wings onto the sides of the whipped cream. Repeat this process to build 5 additional meringue swans. There should be 5 white swans and 1 black swan. For the black swan, sprinkle a thick layer of the excess black sanding sugar all over the whipped cream before inserting the head/neck and wings.
• Pour the chilled creme anglaise into the center of each lake, then top each with a swan. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.
• The meringues can be baked up to 1 day in advance (avoid baking in humid weather); keep them overnight in the oven with the oven turned off. The crème anglaise can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept refrigerated. Whip the cream and assemble the swans just before serving.

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.

MERINGUE NESTS

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Beat the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. , Drop meringue into 8 mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape into 3-in. cups with the back of a spoon. Or place meringue mixture in pastry bag fitted with star tip. Pipe meringue onto parchment to form eight 3-in. cups., Bake at 275° for 45-50 minutes or until set and dry. Turn off oven and do not open door; leave meringues in oven for 1 hour. Fill with fruit. If desired, top with whipped cream and mint.

FOOLPROOF SWISS MERINGUE

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a medium pot.
• Combine sugar, egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Reduce the heat of the pot and place the bowl over the steam. Whisk egg whites lightly until a digital or candy thermometer inserted into the mixture reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.
• Place bowl back onto the stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until egg whites are cool and stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Mixture should hold peaks effortlessly and start balling up around the whisk attachment while appearing silky, shiny, and pure white.
• Use meringue immediately. It will hold its shape without separating for about a week in the refrigerator.

SNAKE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Beat whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tblsp at a time, beating until dissolved between additions. This process will take about 10 minutes. Beat in cornflour and tint mixture with food colouring.
• Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm-fluted nozzle. Pipe 16cm-long snake shapes, 4cm-apart, on oven trays lined with baking paper.
• To decorate snakes, cut forked tongues from licorice using a small sharp knife and lightly press into front of meringue heads. Lightly press M&M's on top of heads for eyes.
• Cook in a very slow oven (120C) for about 40 minutes, swapping trays halfway through cooking, or until firm to touch.
• Cool trays in oven with door slightly ajar.

MERINGUE SMOOCHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
• Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites in clean large metal bowl on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to high and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until siff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Quickly mix in strawberry extract. Stir in food coloring, 1 drop at a time, until desired color is achieved.
• Spoon meringue into pastry bag fitted with star tip. Pipe 12 (1 1/2-inch high by 1 1/2 -inch in diameter) mounds onto each prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart. Bake for 3 hours, or until dry and crisp. Cool meringues completely on baking sheets. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CRISPY BAKED MERINGUES

Steps:

• Whip the egg whites and salt into peaks.
• Add the vanilla, and continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
• In a separate bowl, 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. Each meringue should be about the size of a bar of soap.
• Bake at 225ºF/110ºC until cream-coloured and crisp on top when tapped, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Remove from the oven. Cool on the trays. Store in an air-tight container.