Meringues

4 egg whites, at room temperature

pinch of salt

3/4 cup caster sugar

preheat oven to 130 degrees celsius (fan-forced).

beat the egg whites and salt using an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 3 mintues.

add sugar, one desertspoon at a time.

this works with a dash of vanilla extract added at this stage but not essential.

beat until combined.

keep beating until the mixture is glossy and thick. Don’t overheat beyond glossy otherwise the mixture might start to separate.

spoon teaspoons of mixture onto baking trays lined with baking paper. create crators in each or half of the meringues to create a space for cream and other fillings.

place trays in the oven, turn down the oven to 110 degrees celsius (fan-forced).

bake for 1 hour and 10 mintues, the base of the meringue should be slightly golden.

turn oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for 15 minutes. If you leave them longer, ie until completely cooled, they will become quite crisp which isn't always what you want.

store in an airtight container until needed.

be careful with sugar, make sure there are no lumps!

meringues work with whipped cream, nutella and finely sliced strawberry.

meringues also work with whipped cream, home-made custard, finely sliced strawberry with melted dark chocolate drizzled over the top.

meringues also work with home-made lemon curd, cream and finely sliced strawberry. strawberry cut into 8ths and sprinkled with a small amount of caster sugar work particularly well.

For a cheat’s lemon meringue pie, top a meringue with lemon curd and cream.