Chewy Fruitcake Meringues Recipes

CHEWY FRUITCAKE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until golden and fragrant, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly; chop.
• Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a mixer set over a pot of simmering water (do not let bottom touch water). Whisk until eggs are foamy and sugar dissolves (mixture should feel smooth and warm to the touch when rubbed between your fingers). Transfer to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add cream of tartar, and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, 7 to 9 minutes.
• Combine hazelnuts, fruits, and candied citron and peel in a bowl. Fold maraschino syrup and all but 1/4 cup of fruit-nut mixture into meringue. Drop heaping tablespoons of meringue mixture onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Top with remaining fruit-nut mixture.
• Bake, rotating sheets and rack positions halfway through, until meringues have darkened slightly and are tacky on surfaces but no longer sticky, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Turn oven off (do not open door); let cool in oven until dry and crisp on outsides, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature, between sheets of parchment, up to 5 days. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

ULTIMATE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

CHERRY-CHOCOLATE COCONUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes., Add extract and salt; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Combine confectioners' sugar and cocoa; beat into egg white mixture. Fold in coconut and cherries., Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 25-28 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cool completely on pans on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

PEPPERMINT SWIRL MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F. Prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper. (Do NOT use pan spray!)
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, whip on high until foamy.
• Slowly add in the sugar - a little at a time - and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
• Turn off mixer, remove bowl. Gently stir in peppermint extract to taste.
• Working quickly but gently, divide the meringue into three bowls. Dye one red, and another green, leaving the third bowl white.
• Fit one extra large pastry bag with a large coupler set and tip of your choice - I used used a 4B, large star tip.
• Fill the other three bags with one each of the three meringue colours, taking care to avoid air bubbles. I like to tie them off with a little bit of twine, ribbon, or elastic, as it keeps things cleaner.
• Cut about 3/4″ off the end of the three filled bags and CAREFULLY insert them into the fourth - extra large - pastry bag, so that the three open tips insert almost all the way into the coupler (NOT all the way into the tip, though!)
• Be gentle, you don't want to squeeze meringue out of one or both of those bags yet!
• Use the frosting bag as you normally would, piping small swirls of meringue out onto the prepared cookie sheets. I like to make them just over 2″ in diameter, and leave about 1″ between each little mound.
• Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Test for doneness.
• When meringues are almost as dry as you'd like them, turn the oven off, keep the door closed, and allow them to cool for 2 hours.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool fully before transferring to an airtight container.