Meringues.

I love home made meringues - especially when they are bit soft. I always put mine on silicone parchment so they are easy to remove.

I like to add a little cornflour and vinegar to give a marshmallowy centre, as in this Pavlove recipe.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/711658/strawberry-pavlova

I use Two Chicks egg whites. Saves a lot of hassle. I usually make one large meringue a large Pavlova. I used to add vinegar and cornflour but haven't the last couple of times and couldn't tell the difference.

In one of the Bakeoff programmes they had to make 3 different kinds of meringue. One was italian, can't remember the other 2. Mary Berry knows!
I'm not very good at meringues, mine always flop.

When microwaves first came in, I remember reading recipes where you wrapped the whipped egg white in cling film and cooked them in the microwave. I could never get them to work. Has anyone ever tried this successfully?

Never tried that but I found very few things that I preferred cooked in a microwave - frozen peas and fish being a couple. I also tried a sponge pudding but while it was OK immediately it was cooked but after about 20 minutes it was as hard as anything on the outside. I don't bother with it at all now - out in the store room!

When I first got a microwave many moons ago the book that came with it had a recipe for meringues. I made some for my mum as she left vedo them. As far as I can recall, they were not at all bad. However, the book is long gone and I can't remember the recipe (30-odd years ago!).

I think Mumsnet have a clever one. Egg white with icing sugar.

I don't use vinegar or cornflour either and dry them overnight in my hot trolley.

www.facebook.com/mumsnet/videos/10152789319419025/

I only use egg white and caster sugar. Follow a Delia recipe. Cook for one hour and leave in cooling oven overnight. Works well every time. I usually do a Pavlova rather than individual meringues.

I make mine Daquoise using ground hazels. Whipped cream and fresh raspberries folded in jelly.

I dont/ cant make them at all, a shame as i love them. The last time i tried 30 or mOre years ago, i had to put the mixture through a sieve. Cant remember how or why that happened, but my friend never fails to remind me...am i never allowed to forget? But oh, how we laughed.

I only make meringue for a lemon meringue pie.
Or a fruit flan with meringue topping.

Don't use fresh eggs, use ones that are a few days old,you get a much better meringue, two ounces of caster sugar to every egg white.

I always cook overnight in the warming drawer on its highest temperature. They come out beautifully white!?

Very very slow cooking is the thing. I have an electric oven that takes forever to cool down, so they are easy to cook slowly in the cooling oven.
there is a recipe [don't know where] for meringues made with very hot sugar; put in the hot oven to zap, then cooked more slowly - a cross between Italian meringue and the normal French(?) meringues.

I am reading all your ideas with interest as I have never made meringues successfully. They usually end up being the basis for an Eton Mess dessert. I've had marginally better results since I invested in a Kenwood mixer and whipped the mixture until it was almost warm. My mother made lovely meringues without the benefit of mod cons and with a temperamental gas oven!

I do the same Joelise, and keep the egg whites at room temperature. I do find you can keep egg whites in the fridge for about 2 weeks and these are perfect for meringues. They also freeze well.

For Pavlova I sometimes add one or all of cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence.

I do remember from school that you used icing sugar for the little ones and caster sugar for the toppings (e.g. for lemon meringue).

Or was it the other way round?

Mine always come out well with this recipe:

4oz caster sugar to one large egg white

Make sure bowl is very cool first then whisk the egg whites in mixer. When they are stiff, turn electric whisker down and very gradually add a tablespoon of sugar until all has been whisked. Now turn whisk even lower and add A tablespoon of cornflour plus a dash of vanilla essence. Cook on Gas two fir an hour, then lower for another hour. Turn cooker off and leave them in until oven is completely cold. You can also add colouring if you want pink meringues . I usually make Lemon Meringue Pie. Always successful this way. ?

I've made microwave meringues, here's the recipe;
6oz icing sugar to half an egg white
beat egg white lightly, then beat sugar in till it's firm.
divide into 24 balls, place 6 at a time on parchment in microwave and cook on Full for 1 min 20 seconds, cool on a wire rack, repeat with the rest.
You see it's very quick, and now egg whites are available in cartons probably a bit easier. The beating to get a firm consistency was th most difficult bit.
Then you could melt chocolate in the microwave, dip some of the meringues in that, and sandwich together with cream.

I've made microwave merangues very successfully. Just beat an egg white slightly, sieve in as much icing sugar as it takes to form a paste, roll into balls and cook on baking parchment, watching them carefully - as soon as they puff up, remove from microwave and put on rack to cool.
Little ones (marble sized) only take 10 - 12 seconds, but I made the base of a pavlova by using a ball about the size of a tennis ball... They spread out A LOT, so cook all except the smallest separately.

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