How to Make Rose Meringues

These pretty rose meringues not only look and taste great, but they are also fat free and are only 50 calories (approx) per meringue….. Perfect for serving on any occasion and guilt free!

They can be dressed with fruit, cream or buttercream and will always go down exceedingly well with your guests. They are great for vegetarians and those on a lactose free diet.*

(*provided no dairy cream added….. Subsitute dairy for soya or buttercream for dairy butter alternatives, such as vegetable shortening, e.g. Trex in the UK or Crisco in the USA).

This is what I use:

4 egg whites

225 g caster sugar

Food colouring gels or pastes (NOT LIQUID). I have used Wilton purple and and Wilton rose.

Half a teaspoon of flavouring such as vanilla, rose, or my personal favourite, almond extract. (Optional)

Grease proof paper

Food colouring pen

Mixing bowls

2 large baking trays/cookie trays

Piping bags

2 piping nozzles/tips (one large star, e.g. Wilton 1M or Kaiser and one 13mm round tip)

Spatula

Small palette knife

Electric mixer (or hand held mixer)

Round 7.5cm cookie cutter

Preheat your oven to 150 c/Gas mark 2.

Step 1.
Begin by making sure that all your bowls and utensils are clean and free from grease. (Rub inside of bowls with lemon juice or white vinegar to ensure they are clean).
Separate the egg whites from the eggs and place in the mixing bowl. Whisk the egg whites on a medium fast speed with your electric mixer until they forms soft peaks. Add the flavouring and slowly add all the sugar while you continue to whisk the egg whites. Keep whisking until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is glossy and firm. (Note: you should be able to turn the bowl upside down without the mixture falling out once it’s ready).

Step 2.
Whilst the mixer is whisking the meringue, take your cookie cutter and place it on top of your grease proof paper and draw 6 circles with your food colour pen. Turn the sheet over and place facing down on the baking sheet. It helps if you put a little blob of meringue mix into the corners of your grease proof paper to stick it to the baking sheet and stop it from moving when you pipe over it, (see step.4).

Step.3
Split the mixture equally into two bowls, and add the colour, using as much as you desire, (but remembering that paste/gel colours are highly concentrated so you only need a little to achieve a good colour).

Step 4.  
Spoon a quarter of the first coloured mixture into a piping bag fitted with the round tip and pipe around the circle and then fill in the inside (use the palette knife to smooth the top flat keeping inside the circle’s outline). Do this twice more.

Then using the remaining mixture (of same colour), spoon it into another piping bag with the star nozzle, and pipe a rose by holding your tip at a 90 degree angle to the surface and piping a spiral of mixture beginning at the center and working outward towards the outer edge. Finish by stopping pressure and pulling the tip away.

Repeat two more times and then repeat step 4. again with the second colour. (Yields approx 6-8 meringue roses)

Step 5.
Place into the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 100c and cook for approximately 1hr and 50 minutes. Cooked meringues should be solid and not gooey at the bottom.  If still gooey cook a little longer until crisp and check every 10-15 mins until cooked. (Do not be tempted to turn up the heat as the colour will fade turning your meringues brown). Allow to cool completely before serving.

Delicious……… MMMmmmmmm…. Hope you enjoy my tutorial!

Happy caking!

Gillian