“I went to the bank and asked to borrow a cup of money. They said, ‘What for?’ I said, ‘I’m going to buy some sugar.'”
– Stephen Wright, comedian
Merengues secos are “dry meringues”, and they were on my list to practice this week. I had a lot of time spent in-house because we were having our patio dug up and replaced. Pix forthcoming when it’s all done – just needs a bit of cleaning up and sealing the slate that we had put down. On to the practice…
150 gm of egg whites ready for whipping (5 egg whites). Some people like to add a pinch of cream of tartar to help them not fall flat when cooked, but it’s not necessary if you follow these steps.
Whip them until they’re halfway stiff, approximately…
As they continue whipping, “rain” in 300 gm of sugar – don’t just dump the sugar in, the whites will go completely flat and you won’t be able to get them to whip the way you want.
Whip until you have stiff peaks. If you stop the machine (or your whisk) and scoop up some, you should be able to turn the spoon over and the meringue won’t fall of, nor change shape.
Gently fold in 30 gm each of cornstarch and powdered sugar – this will help stabilize the meringue for piping and baking. Don’t over do the mixing to the point where the whites start to deflate, just make sure it’s well folded together.
At the same time, stir in any coloring or flavoring you might want to add. I went slightly crazy with the coloring, I was trying for a little rainbow effect… the purple didn’t come out as purple-y as I’d have liked, more of a grey-purple. Ah well.
Using a pastry bag (or spoons, or whatever), pipe out or form into the shapes that you want on a non-stick surface, whether silicone sheet (if you do a lot of baking, these are invaluable) or wax/parchment paper.
Place in a low heat oven, 60°C/140°F, with, if you have one, the convection fan going, for 4 hours until they’re well dried out. If they’re still gooey when you check one on the bottom or inside, let them go a little longer – otherwise they’ll start to spoil quickly. Then again, if you like that little gooey texture and plan to eat them soon…
On a purely coincidental basis, about the same time I finished these and laid them out I read the news that the Argentine Congress had approved gay marriage and adoption… on to the next steps, Senate, Executive Branch, and, no doubt, a Supreme Court challenge if it gets that far.
[…] and left to refrigerate overnight. I “deconstructed” it I suppose – making meringue cookies that were flavored with a little strawberry liqueur, then placing them on a plate that was covered […]