Simple French Meringues

This simple French meringue mix has three humble ingredients, but the result is anything but humble. Making meringues is more about the techniques than anything else. This particular method is a French meringue. I am using cocoa to flavor the meringue here, but you can add your own flavors like lemon or orange zest, toasted fennel seeds, or roughly chopped pistachios,
In today’s video, we’ll learn how to whip some killer French meringues with a delicate crust and a chewy inside.

Ingredients:

Six egg whites
1-¼ (260g) cup superfine sugar
2 Tbs (15g) cocoa powder

0:13 – egg whites beating
1:05 – sugar adding
1:43 – testing
1:53 – cocoa powder
2:34 – spreading
3:08 – baking

Start by separating the egg whites in a mixer bowl and make sure there’s no trace of shells or yolks. Even small bits of yolk can ruin your meringue.
Use the wire whisk on your mixer and beat the egg whites on medium speed until you get stiff peaks on the whisk when you test it (about 4-5 minutes).
A real test is to turn your mixer bowl upside-down, and the egg whites should stay in the bowl.
Keep the mixer running at medium speed, and slowly add the sugar. Then, turn up to maximum speed for 6-7 minutes until the mix looks velvety.
Stop the mixer and test the meringue between your fingers. It should be smooth to the touch, and you shouldn’t feel any sugar grains. If you do, mix for a minute or two more.
Don’t whisk too long because the meringue will collapse into itself.
Stop the mixer, add the cocoa powder (or other flavoring), then mix on low speed for about a minute or two until it blends together.
Scoop the meringue mix onto a wax-paper-lined baking sheet and spread it roughly out in a layer. It doesn’t need to be exact; the rougher, the better, since you can get a variety of crust and chewy inside portions. You could also scoop or pipe individual blobs if you wish.
Place in a 300F (150C) oven in the middle rack and turn the tray once or twice during baking.
Let it cool and start digging in!