Follow my step-by-step guide for perfect meringue nests! My foolproof method will give the perfect results every time – snowy white, crispy meringues that can be filled to make mini pavlovas.
90g(just over ⅓ cup) pasteurised egg whitesor from three large eggs
180g(1 cup minus 2 tbsp) sugarcaster or granulated
1tspvanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (optional)
Optional
selection of food color gels
Instructions
Preheat the oven and prep your baking Trays
Preheat the oven to 80°C /175°F Fan Setting or 100°C / 210°F normal setting. Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
Make the meringue
Put the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Set this over a pot of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water. Use a balloon whisk to lightly whisk the egg whites and encourage the sugar to dissolve.
If you have a digital thermometer you can check whether the mixture has reached the right temperature of 55C/ 130F. If not, simply check whether the sugar has dissolved d by checking it between your fingers – if it is still gritty continue to heat while mixing for a little longer.
Dry the bottom of your mixing bowl and attach to the stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract and whisk at maximum speed for 5-7 minutes, or until the meringue forms perfectly stiff peaks.
Pipe the Meringue Cookies
Transfer the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe the meringues onto the prepared trays spaced slightly apart.
Bake and Cool
Bake the meringue cookies for 60 minutes or until they are dry to the touch and release easily from the baking mats.
Turn the oven off and leave the meringues to cool in the oven until it cools down – don’t open the door!
Notes
Make sure the stand mixer bowl, whisk and any other tools used to make the meringue are spotlessly clean and free of grease.
If you are using eggs (and not liquid egg whites) then make sure not a trace of the yolk contaminates the whites. Even a tiny spec will cause your meringue to flop.
It's easy to add color to meringue cookies. You can tint the whole meringue a uniform colour of your choice adding a small amount of gel food coloring while you are still whisking.
Use a paintbrush to paint stripes of food coloring on the insides of your piping bag before you add the meringue. This will create colourfully striped meringue cookies when you pipe them.
You can add different extracts to play around with the flavor of your meringue cookies. Do not add oils as they will deflate your meringue.