The Magic of Meringue

Baking in so many ways is a science. The reaction of one ingredient with another to form something incredible. Such is true of meringue. The reaction between egg whites and sugar with the whisk as middle man!

I never used to like meringue as a child or young adult for that matter but that was in its pavlova entity, which was really all I knew. To be honest, if a dessert wasn't chocolate I wasn't interested.

Fast forward to now and I have discovered the many possibilities meringue in fact holds. From its role in making macarons to its place in my new favourite buttercream and of course its decorative ability . Case in point, meringue kisses. Little peaks of sweetness, to colour and embellish to your heart's desire.

They are pretty simple to master. Made using either French or Italian meringue - depending on your preference - once you've whipped that up you just dollop it into a piping bag and you're good to go.

The actual piping of a meringue kiss is fairly simple but there is a technique to it that I am still perfecting. You want to hold the piping bag about an inch from the baking paper and then push out a small amount of meringue and twist it away to create that little flick on top. Check out this tutorial from Cupcake Jemma - it's one of my favourites for making meringue kisses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdF9qADp2ms

Once you've got the hang of making meringue and had a go at making these cute kisses, why not push the creative boat a little more and play around with meringue pops too. Experiment with colours, flavours, sprinkles and have fun with using a variety of piping nozzles to create different shapes.

Follow us on Instagram @dasmakescakes