Meringue

Meringue or Pavlova is my Dads favourite dessert. I can’t say I blame him! Since I started to add only egg yolks to my burgers or meatballs I have egg whites left over and what a tasty way to use them up.

My oldest son is the first to jump up to make meringues or pavlova with them. He has a sweet tooth and enjoys baking with me. It is a good way to introduce him to cooking and he devours the final products with glee.

The secret to meringue is to make sure you have clean utensils, no egg yolk in the white and that you beat the whites to the right consistency and bake at a low enough temperature.

You should be able to hold them over your head without any spilling when finished whisking the egg whites.

                  

The sugar is then added gradually. You will notice that the texture becomes a lot more shiny once the sugar has been incorporated.

Scoop the mix onto a baking tray and shape into circles. One large egg white will make three reasonable sized meringues.

Make sure to keep your oven at 150 C max and bake for 45 minutes. You can tell when your meringues are done by tapping gently on them. They will be hard. Turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool in the oven – this will take 3-4 hours. The meringues will have a crisp, light texture and a very pale, even, off-white colour.

The finished meringue will keep in an air tight container for a few weeks, if you can resist them that long!

We love to top ours with whipped cream and strawberries or raspberries but use any fruit that you love.