Tag: Food 52

Simple Meringues from Leftover Egg Whites

Simple Meringues // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Simple Meringues // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Simple Meringues // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Simple Meringues // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

I loved meringues when I was a kid – the incredible sweetness, the way they just melt in your mouth, the way they sound kind of like styrofoam (a weird thing to like, I know), and the delicate poofy shapes they came in. I remembered making them once when I was in middle school, and getting the sticky batter all over my shirt and fingers and face.

While I don’t feel as passionately about meringues as I did when I was younger, I still enjoy them. I still love how as soon as you get a crumb on your tongue, it seems to be gone almost as quickly as it came. I love the intense sweet taste, and how it lingers in your mouth. I love the slight nuttiness that comes from the slow caramelization of the sugar.

After I made the mint matcha ice cream, I had a bunch of leftover egg whites. I thought about making macarons, but I simply wasn’t in the mood for something so potentially intense where so much could go wrong. Plus, all my egg whites were in a jar together, so measuring out 3 or however many was going to be tricky. That’s the tough thing about leftover egg whites or yolks – you so often have to find a recipe that uses the exact amount you have leftover. I had seen an article recently on Food 52 about making meringue without a recipe, so I read it, and went ahead. I wouldn’t normally choose to make this much meringue, but it turns out 6 large egg whites yeilds…a lot.

Simple Meringues

Ingredients

1 part egg whites to 2 parts sugar. For example, 1 cup egg whites, 2 cups sugar. To stabilize, you’ll need 1/2 tsp cream of tartar or 2 tsp white vinegar per 1 cup of egg whites. An easy way to remember this, if you’re using vinegar, is that it’s the same amount as the sugar but in teaspoons. So, what I used: 1 cup egg whites (from 6 large eggs), 2 cups sugar, and 2 tsp white vinegar.

Instructions

Bring your egg whites to room temperature, if not a little warmer. You can do this by simply leaving them out in the kitchen for a while, or putting them in a bowl and putting that bowl in another bowl full of hot water.

Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.  Line two pans with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine egg whites and vinegar or cream of tartar. Whip on medium speed with an electric beater or in the bowl of an electric mixer until there are soft peaks when the beater is lifted from the bowl.

Once soft peaks can form, turn the mixer speed to high, and add the sugar by heaping teaspoons. This will take a few minutes (certainly if you’re making as much meringue as I was). Be patient. Once the sugar is mixed in, either pipe the meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, or drop by spoonful. I used a large ziploc, used a spatula to scoop all of the meringue in, and then cut off the tip of one of the corners, and used that for piping. It worked really well.

Bake the meringues for 1 1/2 hours, rotating front to back and top rack to bottom half way through. When time is up, turn off the oven and allow them to cool in the oven. If you have SO MUCH MERINGUE, like I did, you can turn off the oven and allow them to cool partway, remove from oven, and then preheat the oven for the next batch. I left my meringue on the counter while the first batch baked, and while it was noticeably not as fully whipped, it still worked just fine. I recommend crunching into one when it’s still warm, because how often do you get to try a warm meringue? Store the rest in an airtight container, and enjoy whenever you’re in need of a sweet, light treat.

Weekend Finds 2:16:14

It’s time for weekend finds! It has been a quite a week – the snow melted, I made a trip to the coast with friends where I baked some delicious food (more testing and then a recipe to come). And then… it was Valentine’s Day. We visited Expatriate after I got off of work, which I had been wanting to try for a long time! And now I’m baking for Carmelle’s birthday – details in find #1!

1. Ice cream cake

Ice Cream Cake on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Ice Cream Cake! Photo from Not Without Salt

I’m making ice cream cake for my roommate’s birthday tonight! Her birthday was on Friday, but today was the first day I’ve had to bake her something. We’re going to the Amos Lee concert tonight with her (her boyfriend got her tickets for Christmas, and I got Jonah tickets for his birthday), so we’ll eat it after listening to an evening of sweet crooning. It’s kind of a mixture of a bunch of recipes, including chocolate wafers from Smitten Kitchen and fudge sauce and assembly tips from Not Without Salt.

2. Interview with Rachel Cole

Rachel Cole Interview from The Kitchn on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Rachel Cole Interview from The Kitchn

I’ve never heard of Rachel Cole before, but after reading this interview with her on The Kitchn, I am loving what she has to say about food and eating. I particularly like what she says about having your compass needle point towards pleasure, fear of food, and the importance of fresh food.

3. Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Homemade Cocoa Mix from Food 52 on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Homemade Cocoa Mix from Food 52

I love hot cocoa, and I love the convenience of hot cocoa packets, but I don’t love that I don’t always know what the ingredients listed on the packets are. I am really into making this homemade cocoa mix, especially to go with the vanilla marshmallows I got for Christmas!

4. Miso Roasted Vegetables

Miso Roasted Vegetables from Food 52 on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Miso Roasted Vegetables from Food 52

More, I say, more! Remember when I told you about those miso and harissa roasted vegetables? And how amazing they are? This seems like another great recipe to try, and I love the addition of the maple syrup and rice vinegar.

5. DIY Puff Pastry

DIY Puff Pastry from Food 52 on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
DIY Puff Pastry from Food 52

Ok, so making your own puff pastry takes a lot of time, many hours of rolling and chilling and rolling and chilling, but wouldn’t it be cool to make it yourself instead of buying it at the store in the freezer aisle?! I don’t know when exactly I’m going to try this puff pastry recipe, but I’m going to try it, darn it!