Perfect Meringue Recipe

Sorry to be boring but I haven't posted in a while and I thought I should just post something... anything, as long as there is a baking theme so here we go.

Once you've made pastry there tends to be egg whites left over which sit in the fridge for a few days before it is decided perhaps they shouldn't stay there any longer. So I tend to try and use them up by making meringues.

Meringue Recipe:

Ingredients: 
1 egg white
60g white caster sugar

This can be edited to the amount of egg whites that you have as it is often easier to multiply quantities than divide, well, that's what I have found anyway. 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 140 degree fan or gas mark 1

2. Whisk the egg white until forming soft, fluffy peaks. They should still be moist because over whisking means that they dry out and become useless. The egg white(s) should form peaks.

3. While continuing to whisk add small amounts of sugar until the mixture becomes stiff and glossy peaks and you should be able to hold the bowl upside down above your head without fear of your hair being ruined. (I wouldn't recommend actually doing this, but you get the idea)

I prefer making meringues using a mixer as it is quicker and to be quite honest easier on the arms, but if you don't have one this should take 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your arm muscles. 

4. Dollop the mixture onto the a baking tray, lined with grease-proof paper, being careful not to knock out any of the air... don't be to worried about the shape. The rustic, un-perfected look is perfectly fine.

5. Cook the meringues for about 45 minutes which makes the pale and dry. But if you want them a bit more golden, obviously leave them in longer, about 60 minutes.

Play it by eye as it depends on the oven and the look that you want to achieve. Ideally they should sound hollow and crack on heavier touches. 

I will try to be more interesting next post.

John Whaite Bakes

Tomorrow is the Great British Bake Off quarter final, it is getting serious now! *cue screams*

So in celebration of the fact it is nearly the GBBO quarter final and the woes that I can never enter, I did a selection of bakes from last years winner's book, John Whaite Bakes. 

Also apologies in advance about the picture quality, it is appalling and I don't really know why, except camera troubles. 

I started off by baking his "Simple Strawberry Tart" - as, let's face it summer is coming to a close...or is over altogether. 

The tart is a shortcrust pastry base filled with creme patisserie and then covered in strawberries. It was a sweet and delicious tart which I know that when summer returns, if summer returns, I will definitely be baking this again. It also meant I had to make creme pat for the first time, exciting!

I then attempted to create a plaited loaf. Which soon became two plaits of three strands which is slightly less impressive. For some reason, the dough was a complete and utter failure. And although it tasted ok, the strands didn't become one in the oven and the texture was a bit off. I don't like making bread!

In a quest to find a simple thing to bake I turned to his Caramel Shard Cookies which involves making a simple cookie dough and a slab of caramel, which is smashed. They are then combined, to make a rather dangerous cookie dough mixture. 

The odd thing about this recipe is that they are baked as balls, they are not shaped before they go in to the oven, but suprisingly enough they baked perfectly. 

They were fab and I was eating them for a whole week, the vision of health that I am. 

 Doesn't it look beautiful!

 John Whaite, if you are reading this, your book is gold, I love it. Everyone should buy a copy just for the recipes I have mentioned above, if nothing else.

I cannot wait for Bake Off, as sadly enough, along with Downton Abbey, it is the highlight of my television week.

And with that all that remains to be said is, on your marks, get set, bake!