Black and White Meringue Swirls

Meringue Swirls

…either you love them or hate them. What’s great about Meringue Swirls is the ease in making them. Made a German Chocolate Cake for my brother’s birthday and had left over egg whites. This is a great way to use the whites instead of tossing them. I also have leftover buttermilk. What to do? Made Buttermilk Scones. Another simple recipe. Will post in the future.

Got Inspiration to add a black stripe to the meringue from a creation on Martha Stewart’s website. There is also a video on her site on how to apply the colors. Cool stuff! I used a larger pastry tip and ended up with less than 25 pieces.

BAKER’S TIP: To ensure a full rise to the meringue, make sure your mixing bowl is clean from traces of oil etc. How to clean it? Add some vinegar in the mixing bowl. Using a paper towel, scrub the bowl. Rinse with water. Dry bowl.

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Black and White Meringue Swirls

Recipe and video on Martha Stewart’s Website

Adapted by Carmen Ortiz of Baking is my Zen

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Yield: Makes 25

INGREDIENTS
3 large egg whites, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (I used approx. 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
Large pinch of salt
Large pinch of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest (I omitted zest)
Gel-paste food coloring, black

DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl.
3) Add vanilla bean seeds or paste.
4) Set bowl over a pot of simmering water.
5) Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes.
6) Add salt.
7) Add cream of tartar.
8) Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled. Beat about 7 minutes.
9) Beat in zest (if used).
10) Using a small paintbrush, paint 3 vertical stripes of food coloring inside a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (Ateco #805). (I squeezed the color onto the plastic pastry bag using the color bottle’s nozzle. I used #809.)
11) Fill bag with meringue, and pipe 1 3/4-inch circular shapes (they don’t need to be perfect rounds) 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets.
12) As you finish piping each shape, apply less pressure to pastry bag, and swirl the tip off in a circular motion.
13) Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
14) Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Peace in Baking,

Carmen

Baking is my Zen…sweet nibbles for the soul

Photography by Carmen Ortiz ~All Rights Reserved.
Not to be used without permission.

 

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