How to Cook Well at Christmas airs on Sunday, December 21, at 8:30pm, and Monday, December 22 at 6.30pm, on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
There are many different meringue recipes, but this is the one I like to use best for individual meringues with a crisp crust and a soft interior. Make sure your equipment is spotless and measure accurately. Parchment or silicone paper makes the process much easier.
Serves 8
- 4 egg whites, 120g
- 225g caster sugar
- Silver or gold dragées
Method
- Preheat the oven to 100c fan.
- Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites in a clean bowl of a food mixer. Whisk for a moment or two, just to break up the egg whites. Add all of the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture holds a very stiff peak, just like shaving foam. This can take up to 20 minutes, depending on your machine.
- Place the meringue in a piping bag fitted with a star or plain nozzle and pulse pipe the meringue on to the parchment paper, creating little tiered type meringue trees. Sprinkle with dragées if using
- Bake immediately for c 45/ 1 hr minutes or until the meringues feel crisp to the touch and will lift off the paper with no resistance.
- Allow to cool.
