Flavours Column: Raspberry Meringues

Today a suitably witty, articulate and clever (as my writing so often is) introduction to this post is eluding me. I'm sorry. Instead we'll stick with the classic...  'insert your name' meet Raspberry Meringues. Raspberry Meringues meet 'insert your name'. I hope you like each other. x

P.S. I was being facetious about my writing. Just in case you couldn't tell.

Raspberry Meringues
(Published in the Bay of Plenty Times, Weds 12 June 2013)

I posted a sneak peak photograph of this recipe on my Instagram account last week and got a lot of requests for the recipe! Meringues make a great dessert and always impress. 

I love the rough, whippy shape of these meringues that are simply dolloped onto the tray to bake. If you prefer a more refined meringue feel free to pipe them using a round or star shaped nozzle. 

The raspberry flavour comes from using freeze dried fruit powder. I used Nutrafresh™ Sparkling Raspberry Powder. These powders add a true, intense fruit flavour to desserts (which is only natural given they contain 100% fruit). You can pick them up in gourmet food stores such as Nosh, which stock the Fresh As brand, and Simplifood on Maunganui Rd. 

If you’ve never made meringues before don’t be afraid! This recipe hasn’t failed me yet. The result is light, crisp, puffy meringues. Perfect served with berries and cream. 

Ingredients
180g egg whites (roughly 5 eggs) 
400g caster sugar 
15g Nutrafresh™ Sparkling Raspberry Powder 
Frozen raspberries to paint & serve 

Preheat oven to 100°C. This is a Swiss meringue, meaning the egg whites and caster sugar are warmed over a bain-marie. Swiss meringue is my favourite type (there are also French and Italian types) as it’s very reliable. Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a pot. Place a bowl containing the sugar and egg whites over the pot of simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is completely melted. Remove from the heat and beat until you have a glossy white, fluffy meringue. Add the fruit powder and beat to combine. Pipe or dollop blobs onto trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 1 hour then turn the oven off leaving the meringues inside to continue drying for at least two hours (even better, overnight). To create the raspberry swirl look, puree raspberries and paint onto the dried meringues. Pop painted meringues back into the oven for 10mins to dry. 

Weekly Tip: Experiment with the fruit powders. They can be used in almost any recipe where you want to enhance the fruit flavour. There's even a beetroot powder which I've earmarked for macarons!