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. It is important that the mixture is very glossy, not just starting to become glossy. As the mixture starts to become glossy, it will still pass the upside down bowl test, be careful.

spoon dessert spoons 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, the base of the meringue should be slightly golden.

turn oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for 10 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.

Undercook rather than overcook, if you are worried about firmness, you can alway pop them back in a 110 degree oven for 5 minutes and turn off the oven and leave the for 10 minutes to improve the situation.

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 or passionfruit curd, thick cream and finely sliced strawberry cut into 8ths. sprinkling grated dark chocolate and or toasted flaked almond over the top is also good.

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