recipes and tips. tried and tested.

This is one of those desserts that doesn’t call for what seems to be like an endless list of ingredients. And it comes in handy whenever there is leftover egg whites. The good thing about meringue is that you can turn it into all kinds of shapes and sizes. You can even make it colourful.

I have been using Donna Hay’s recipe to make any meringue-based desserts for as long as I can remember. It never failed to bake beautifully and gives me that slightly gooey-but-almost-crunchy-and-dry texture. That’s what I’m after in a baked meringue. I’m actually am one of Donna’s longtime fan.

When making meringue, it’s all in the eggs and equipment. Grease is the sole enemy that must be avoided at all times lest you end up with a runny liquid no matter how long you whip it.

So from start to finish, everything must be perfectly and impeccably clean to ensure that you’ll get that gloriously fluffy cloud of meringue. That includes your hands, the tools and equipment, even the sugar you’re adding in.

In case you’re wondering, use any nozzle tip that you have. You don’t even have to use any actually. Just snip off the tip of the piping bag and you’re ready to go.

I always prefer sweet and sourish fruits to go with these crispy layers. Which is why, I love using strawberries although they can be a little pricey here. How I wish strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries would grow in my backyard though.

Most importantly, assemble the layers close to serving time. Though the whole thing can be chilled for a few days, after few hours they might get pretty soggy and mushy. Nevertheless, in a tropical country like ours, this kind of dessert gets eaten pretty fast in our house.

Meringue berlapis

Dalam banyak-banyak resipi meringue, kami selalu gunakan resipi Donna Hay. Resipi ni mudah dan biasanya menjadi. Donna Hay ialah seorang ‘food stylist’ dan ‘food editor’ dari Australia. Beliau ada beberapa buku resipi dan juga majalh baking sendiri. Kami salah seorang peminat resipinya sebab terdapat banyak variasi.

Meringue ni sebenarnya ialah campuran putih telor dan gula. Lepas tu ada banyak variasi dia…tambah perisa, kacang atau ubah nisbah bahan-bahan. Untuk resipi ni, kalau nak meringue lebih basah di dalam, bakar suhu 190 dalam 25-30 minit. Untuk yang kering, rangup luar dan dalam, kami buat guna cara resipi ni.

Bahan paling penting untuk resipi ni ialah telor. Boleh gunakan putih telor yang disimpan frozen cuma pastikan tiada sikit pun kuning telor tercampur dalamnya. Putih telor yang dibekukan haruslah dibiarkan cair pada suhu bilik sebelum dipukul untuk meringue.

Juga tip penting ialah pastikan tak ada langsung minyak atau kesan minyak pada semua peralatan memasak termasuk tangan, mangkuk, mixer, gula. Juga elakkan guna mangkuk plastik kerana kadang-kadang di celah-celah garisan calar mangkuk plastik terdapat kesan minyak dan gris.

Resipi ini akan menghasilkan meringue yang rangup dan agak rapuh di bahagian dalamnya. Jika mahukan meringue yang lebih lembut dan kenyal di dalam, bakar pada suhu lebih tinggi (dalam 180C) dan singkatkan masa bakar (30 minit).

Meringue yang dah dibakar, boleh disimpan dalam bekas kedap udara dalam peti sejuk. Lama boleh tahan. kalau nak lama lagi simpan dalam freezer tapi mesti pastikan betul-betul kedap udara.

Selain buah stoberi, boleh juga gunakan kiwi, pic, blueberry. Taburkan coklat Ferrero Rocher atau Kinder Bueno pun sedap. Silalah cuba resipi Donna Hay ni!