I just had to tell you about these tiny, cute little meringue kisses, they are so simple to make but so sweet, my Daughter would never forgive me if the recipe was not on the blog, as she loved them.

I first made these just after Christmas, I didn’t add the orange-flower water and I didn’t put them together with cream, I just piled them up in a couple of small glass bonbon dishes that I got for Christmas from Hubby, from the White Company and served them at the end of the meal with the coffee and Limoncello.

I have made them again today and they are baking away in the oven as I write this blog. This batch I have tinted very slightly yellow with a gel food colouring and I am going to fill them with a little cream with some lemon curd marbled through, then along with some cupcakes that I have made this morning, they are off to my office as it was my Birthday at the weekend and it is custom in my office that we have to provide cakes.

You can have a lot of fun with these, the recipe is so simple, but you could make them any colour you wanted, add flavouring, add different fillings. A bowl of different baby pastel colours would look so pretty or baby pink with rosewater, pink or white with raspberry puree through the cream, grated chocolate folded through the meringue mix before piping and a chocolate filling would be heavenly, so many ideas. I think that I will be making these time and time again.

Buon appetito

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes about 25

4 medium egg whites
225g white caster sugar
2 teaspoons orange-flower water (I didn’t use this, but feel free to add it, or rose water would also be lovely)
150ml double cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting

Heat the oven to 110c, 90c fan, gas mark 1/4.

Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Beat in half the sugar 1 tablespoon as a time until thick and glossy. Whisk in the orange-flower water. Folding in the remaining sugar.

Fill a piping bag with a large fluted nozzle. Holding the bag vertical, pipe a blob about the size of a walnut onto a baking sheet, pipe a smaller blob on top followed by another slightly smaller. Lift away the nozzle sharply. I always draw circles onto the parchment, then turn it over and stick it to the baking tray. This way you can see the circles thru the paper and you can pipe the perfect size every time. I found that the little pots edible glitter come in are just the perfect size to draw, round. Continue, spacing well apart, until all the mixture is used up.

Cook for about an hour until a meringue peels away easily. If you prefer a chewy meringue remove from the oven at once, if you like them drier, turn off the heat, leaving the meringues inside, and prop open the door slightly with a skewer.

To serve, whisk the cream with the icing sugar until it just holds its shape. Fill a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe a little cream onto the flat side of the meringue. Stick together with another meringue and place onto a serving dish. Continue with the rest of the meringues, piling up into a rough pyramid shape. Dust with icing sugar.