Meringue Kisses: Ingredients
Makes about 40 to 50 meringue kisses, depending on size
- 100g (3½oz) egg whites (from approx. 3 eggs)
- 100g (3½oz/½ cup) caster sugar
- 100g (3½oz/¾ cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
- flavouring, if required in recipe
- food colouring, if required in recipe
Specialist equipment: large piping bag fitted with the required nozzle
Meringue Kisses: How-To
Preheat the oven to 80ºC/175ºF/Gas ¼ and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
Put the egg whites and sugar into a metal or glass heatproof bowl and whisk together with a balloon whisk. Place the bowl over a hot water bath (bain marie) and continue whisking until the meringue becomes white and fluffy and it reaches 55ºC/ 131ºF on a sugar thermometer.
Once the temperature is reached, transfer the meringue to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk at medium speed until cool.
Once the meringue is cool, gradually add the icing sugar and continue whisking until fully combined and stiff.
At this point, add any flavourings that the recipe requires, if applicable.
If adding food colouring, mix 1 tbsp of the meringue with the colour paste to a deeper shade than required. Blend together with a palette knife until all the colour specks have dispersed. Little by little, mix the coloured meringue back into the main batch of meringue until you have reached the required colour.
To make meringue kisses, spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a round or star nozzle.
Stick the baking parchment onto a baking tray with blobs of meringue in each corner to prevent it from lifting if using a fan-assisted oven.
Pipe the meringue kisses onto the prepared trays with at least 1cm (½in) between each one and bake for about 1 hour, or until the meringues can be lifted clean off the tray. Allow to cool.
If stored in an airtight container the kisses will last for up to 4 weeks.