Meringue Swirls....

I must tell about the obsession I am having about travelling to Paris, eating french food and about anything French !!! I happened to come across the book " A lunch in Paris" by Elizabeth Bard in the library not hoping to read it as much as I am, but just to skim and pick out a few recipes. But ironically, this is the best book I have read in a long while and what I really enjoyed about it was how the author writes about her experiences living in Paris and how she tasted various food followed by recipes of those dishes. I enjoy reading about the story behind each recipe and the history behind it. Its no wonder that when I read  a blog post on Meringue swirls by Michelle, I jumped up wanting to try them.

Meringues are a french low fat dessert as they are made of only egg whites and sugar. The basic meringue recipe ( I did a little research) has only two ingredients egg whites and sugar ... There are many versions to dress up your meringue either by adding gel food coloring, various flavors ( vanilla bean, coffee, chocolate) or just eat it the simple way ! Well I made mine based on Martha Stewart's recipe. Here is what you will need.

Swirls baking in the oven..

3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
zest of lemon
gel food coloring
pastry bags

Preheat oven to 200 F.
Simmer some water in a pan, before you start. In a heat proof mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the egg yolk. Cut the Vanilla bean and scrap the insides and add it to the sugar and egg yolk. I made one batch with vanilla bean and another with vanilla essence, and there was a huge difference. The ones made with vanilla essence had a egg smell while the ones made with vanilla bean were good and did not have any egg smell. Vanilla beans are a bit expensive, so its okay to use vanilla essence. So, once you done with this place the bowl on the pan with simmering water and mix with a beater for 3-4 mins, the sugar should melt completely and the mixture should be white and foamy.

Remove from the heat and add salt and cream of tartar. Beat using an electric mixer on medium high speed until glossy stiff peaks are formed. This should take around 6-7 mins.

Paint three vertical stripes on the inside of the pasty bag using any gel food coloring of choice. Fill with meringue paste and circular shapes using a round tip. Space each meringue 2 cm apart. Bake in the oven for 1.15 mins or more until the top is crisp and not doughy. Let the meringue cool for 10 mins before taking them and storing them in air tight containers.

Though I made them twice, I am not very  satisfied on how my meringue turned out. I hope to make them some time soon and master making these. The entire process of making and baking these was entirely thrilling and so much fun . I hope you have making them, as much as I did !!!!