Weekend Breakfast Little Baker Recipe: Magnificent Meringues!!

Chef Shane Smith joins us every week to give some tips on baking for our Little Baker's preparing for The Great Irish Bake with The Children's Health Foundation

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Top Tips when Making Meringues

1. Weigh up your ingredients
2. Crack your eggs on a flat surface instead of the side of a bowl, as this will reduce the amount of tiny shells that can fall into the bowl.
3. Use fresh eggs – the fresher the eggs, the better the meringue
4. Use room temperature egg whites
5. Make sure your bowl and whisk are clean from dust or grease
6. Adding a drop of vinegar, lemon juice, or cream of tartar stabiles the meringue.
7. Adding cornflour will help give you a marshmallowy soft centre meringue.
8. Try to use caster or icing sugar. Granulated sugar granules are too big.
9. Add your sugar gradually to the whisking whites
10. If you prefer a crispy meringue, bake until cooked, turn the oven off, and allow the meringues to cool inside the oven.
11. Slow and steady wins the race. Start on the slowest until the whites turn opaque, then speed up. Egg white contains chains of proteins that need to stretch slowly so they trap optimum air – too fast and you risk snapping some of the chains permanently, making an unstable foam that’s likely to collapse when you add the sugar.
12. If some yolk falls into the egg white, make sure to remove it.
13. Line your tray with greaseproof paper to prevent sticking
14. Bake your meringues low and slow. 100C for 45-60mins

Mini Strawberry Meringue Sandwich Recipe

Makes: 24 meringues/ 12 sandwiches

Prep: 20 mins

Bake: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 200g egg white
• 200g caster sugar
• 200g icing sugar
• ½ tsp white wine vinegar
• 10g cornflour
• Dash vanilla
• 250ml cream
• 10 medium strawberries

Method

• Preheat your oven to 120C/100C fan,
• Line two baking trays with parchment.
• Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
• Place the room temperature egg whites & vinegar into the bowl.
• Whisk until frothy but not stiff.
• Gradually add the caster sugar, whisk until thick.
• Add the icing sugar, cornflour and vanilla.
• Whisk on full speed for 8 minutes or until thick and glossy.
• Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
• Pipe 12 x 2.5” rounds on each tray.
• Place in the preheated oven and bake for 45minutes.
• Once baked, turn the oven off and let them cool fully inside.
• Whip the cream and cut the strawberries in half
• To assemble, turn a meringue upside down and pipe some cream on top, place 3 strawberries around the cream and top with another meringue.
• Serve straight away.