Mini Meringues

I don't give up. I already mentioned in a previous post that my father loves meringues and I cooked them once. Well, he is very special....and although he said they were good, “they were not as the ones he used to eat when he was a kid: with a “crunchy” cover and soft inside”.

After my first attempt, I cooked meringues a second time (using again syrup), but that was a disaster. Those were bad ... really bad I would say! To be honest, they ended up in the bin.


 
Yesterday afternoon I took my pasteurized egg whites (bought in Mercadona) and tried again. As I was tired of all my previous sophisticated recipes, I took the easy path this time. I used a recipe that I saw in the latest issue of the Nespresso magazine (yes, the brand of coffee / coffee machines sponsored by George Clooney).  And…"voila"! Once again, using the easiest recipe, it worked out perfectly!

I made some little ones with strawberry flavour (no colour though). It has been really easy and quick to cook them, so next time I will try with other flavours and bigger ones.

The recipe I used was as follows:
4 egg whites (155 grams)
220 g of caster sugar
2 teaspoons of cornstarch
A hint of strawberry flavour



I used my recently bought Kitchen Aid. All you need to do is to whisk the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks and add gradually the sugar, the cornstarch and the desired flavour.

Fill a large pastry bag and using a Wilton 1A tip (or any other you may have) make small round shapes on a baking tray covered with a baking sheet. Leave some space between them to allow for spreading. Pre-heat the oven and bake for about one hour or until firm.

I love to be on holidays…I have so much time to do things!

See you soon!
Natalia


Modifying my "Traditional Cake"

Hi! I’m going to start with a very easy recipe: it is quick, easy, no need to mess too much and it always looks good.

* 3 eggs (yolks and whites separately)
* 1 lemon yogurt
* Measure of 1 yogurt cup of mild olive oil
* Measure of 2 yogurt cups of sugar
* Measure of 3 yogurt cups of flour
* 1 teaspoon of baking powder
* Lemon juice

Mix together the yogurt, egg yolks and sugar. Add one “yogurt cup” of olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice from half a lemon. Mix in a bowl the 3 cups of flour with the baking powder and add slowly to the mixture you already had. Keep beating. Finally, whisk the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks and incorporate them into the mixture with soft movements.

Pre-heat the oven and bake the cake (180ºC) until it’s fully cooked.

A few hints...
- I'm addicted to silicone molds! I still remember when I used metal or crystal molds and I had to cover the inside with butter. Silicone ones are great, durable and cakes will not stick on them.
- I usually bake narrow and long cakes, but today I wanted to change and I used the square and flat mold. The “narrow version” helps to keep the cake fresher for longer.
- I love coconut ... and in many occasions I've cooked the coconut version of this cake using a coconut yogurt and dessicated coconut instead of lemon juice. You have to try it!


Enjoy!
Natalia

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