Often featured in the kitchen is the mighty meringue, a necessity for your Pavlova and a staple in a classic British dessert, Eton Mess. However, meringues are so easy to fluff up! That’s why we asked Sopwell House’s Executive Head Chef, Gopi Chandran, to reveal his easy recipe for creating the perfect meringues at home. Serving size – will make enough for 4 Eton Mess puddings.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large egg whites
- A dash of Lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 1tsp vanilla essence
- 120g sugar
- Dusting of cornstarch
METHOD
Whisk together the egg whites, lemon juice, salt and vanilla essence to form soft peaks. A peak is where you can pull the mixture with the whisk and the mixture will create dome-like shapes that support themselves.
Slowly add the sugar and then the corn-starch, whisking together until firm, self-supporting peaks form. The Chef’s biggest tip for this stage is to add these ingredients slowly and steadily, if you add the sugar to the previous mixture too quickly, you’ll find small caramel bubbles that can appear burnt once you’ve baked the meringue. Taking it slow will ensure the mixture is smooth and you’ll achieve better results.
Once firm peaks have formed, pipe out the meringue mixture using a plain nozzle into your desired shape. For Sopwell House’s Eton Mess, create droplet shapes by squeezing the piping bag intermittently onto the lined baking tray.
Bake at 90°c for 75-90 minutes.
Leave the meringue to cool in a dry area before attempting to pick up or move them, as they will be soft to touch.
