Meringue 2 Lis 1 =(
| GAH!!! What the hell is it with me and meringue?? When I whisk my eggs they turn out to be beautifully stiff and glossy. When I fold in other ingredients, I don't lose the fluff.. but when they come outta my oven.. GAH!! Allow me to remind you about this monstrosity where I burnt the meringue on top, but managed to undercook the cake and the meringue on the sides. Pretty. Allow me to introduce to you today's monstrosity:  Yes.. that's a sheet full of fluffy chocolately cappuccino meringues. See the fluff? No? GAH!!! Alrighty then, well I'd hate to waste 3 egg whites, a cup of confectioners sugar and 3 oz each of chocolate and cappuccino chips.. so let's plate them and see how they taste - maybe they'll be chewy instead of melty in your mouthy, I like chewy! Okay.. here we go.. lessee here..  Hmmm.. apparently not only did they not stay fluffy, but they spot welded themselves to my cookie sheet. All but one. You see the one, right?? Okay, taste test next - I wasn't going to NOT sample them after I almost dislocated my elbow trying to pry them from my cookie sheet! On a scale of 1 to 10, I give them a negative 7. I only rated them that high because they did stick in my teeth and I was still chewing 5 minutes later. Whatever meringues. What. Ever. Labels: Funny, Kitchen Disasters |
posted by Lis at 5/06/2006 09:53:00 PM
Comments on "Meringue 2 Lis 1 =("
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Ziz said ... (5/07/2006 1:07 AM) :
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Anonymous said ... (5/07/2006 2:41 AM) :
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Lis said ... (5/07/2006 5:23 AM) :
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Marianne said ... (5/07/2006 3:04 PM) :
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Lis said ... (5/07/2006 8:33 PM) :
post a commentboy I am no expert, but I would highly recomend buying an oven thermometer and finding out if perhaps your oven temp is off? Mine is waaaay off, coupled with my high elevation..it makes baking anything a total bitch. :O)
I had similar results the first (and last) time I tried to make meringues...but Nigella reckons they're pretty easy - from "How to be a domestic goddess":
- remember that for each egg white you need 60g caster sugar, this will make you around 10 6cm-diameter meringues.
- preheat oven to 140 degrees C
- whisk egg white till stiff (but not dry), adding sugar tablespoon by sprinkled tablespoon till all's incorporated and you have a gleaming, satiny mass
- pipe or drop spoonfulls onto lined (but not greased) baking trays
- bake for 60-70mins, then leave in the switched off oven for 20 minutes before removing to cool
Y'know, just in case you decide to go head to head with this monster again ;)
P.S. the meringues i tried to make were not from nigella's instructions, but a kid's cookbook when I was 12. I get the feeling it perhaps wasn't the most trustworthy cookbook in the world, for reasons other than the meringues!
Ali - two years ago, a friend and I "opened" up a catering business for the holidays.. shiteloads of cookies, cheesecakes & candy. I discovered then that the oven was off because my first batches turned out horrible. So I bought the thermometer then. I am at a complete loss as to why meringues don't work for me. *sigh*
Ellie - thanks for the tips from Nigella (she truly is a goddess), this recipe came from our favorite butter guzzling gal from the south, Paula Deen. I left out the crushed saltines (huh?) and the pecans in her original recipe but that couldn't have been the problem. Although she did say to use confectioners sugar.. maybe that had something to do with it?
I dunno.. but like you and your war against muffins/cupcakes, I am now bound and determined to get this right. Those supposedly fluffy fakkers are not going to win, dammit! I made meringues several years ago from a recipe by Debbie Fields (aka Mrs. Fields cookies - dunno if she's popular down under?) and they turned out perfect - different oven though, made in a commercial oven at our restaurant. But I'm gonna try those again and just keep my eye on them in this oven and see what happens.. wish me luck - lots of it! lol
Lis--
My cocnut macaroons are really just coconut meringue cookies, and I find that they sit up a lot better if I chill the batter for 3-4 hours before baking. I'm no sure why, but they turn out to be perfectly puffy little balls of coconut if they have time to chill, and are signifigantly flatter if I don't chill it. If you like coconut you should check out my recipe.
I do like coconut, quite a bit and I will try your recipe, Marianne. It sounds wonderful, thank you! :D