Orange Meringues Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and set up a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff - the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in roughly half the sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny. If you like meringues with soft, mallowy centres, just add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar to the mix along with the sugar.
• Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the end of the piping bag to seal. Gently squeeze until meringue is visible at the end of the nozzle, then begin piping onto your lined baking sheets. Pipe spiralling circles, about 6cm wide and 3 layers high - like you would ice a cupcake to make roughly 18. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins.
• Remove from the oven - they should peel easily away from the parchment - and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.
• To make Cream & chocolate meringues for dessert, put 100g dark chocolate in a glass bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water. Carefully dip the base of each meringue in to coat, then place on their sides on a plate or tray to set. While the chocolate sets, whip 300ml double cream. Assemble the meringues in pairs and sandwich their chocolate bases together with a good spoonful of cream. Delicious served with ice cream, raspberry coulis or fresh berries.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Make meringue: Trace a 10-inch circle onto a piece of parchment paper. Turn over and use parchment to line a baking sheet. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar on high until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, add granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream and continue to beat on high until whites are very stiff and glossy and sugar is dissolved, 5 minutes.
• With an offset spatula, gently shape meringue into a round on parchment-lined sheet, using circle as a guide; smooth top (make center slightly concave). Bake meringue until outside is dry, 2 hours. Turn off oven and let meringue cool completely in oven, about 5 hours (or up to overnight).
• Make curd: In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together granulated sugar, egg yolks, and orange zest; whisk in orange and lemon juices and pinch of salt. Place pan over medium-high and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and small bubbles form around edge of pan, 5 minutes (do not let boil). Immediately remove pan from heat while whisking. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl, pressing on curd with a rubber spatula. Press plastic wrap against surface; refrigerate until cool, 30 minutes (or up to 2 weeks).
• Make topping: In a large bowl, using mixer, beat cream and confectioners' sugar on high until stiff peaks form, 3 minutes. Gently peel meringue from parchment and transfer to a platter. Spoon curd in center and top with whipped cream and white chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Add vanilla bean seeds. Set bowl over a pot of simmering water, and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Add salt and cream of tartar.
• Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled, about 7 minutes. Beat in zest.
• Using a small paintbrush, paint 3 vertical stripes of food coloring inside a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (Ateco #805). Fill bag with meringue, and pipe 1 3/4-inch circular shapes (they don't need to be perfect rounds) 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. As you finish piping each shape, apply less pressure to pastry bag, and swirl the tip off in a circular motion.
• Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475F degrees.
• Cover 2 baking sheets with foil.
• Beat egg whites until foamy.
• Add salt and cream of tartar.
• Mix the orange gelatin and sugar together, then add the mixture to the egg whites gradually, a tablespoon at a time, while beating.
• Beat to stiff peaks.
• Carefully fold in the chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.
• Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Place the baking sheets into the hot oven quickly, then close the oven door, and turn the oven off.
• Leave the cookies in the oven overnight (8 hours).
• Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line pastry with aluminum foil and a layer of pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the preheated oven until edge of crust is golden, about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights; bake about 5 minutes more.
• In a small saucepan, stir together the 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cornstarch, and salt. Mix in the orange juice, lemon juice, and water. Whisk in the egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and orange zest. If desired; stir in diced orange segments. Pour into prepared pie crust, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to cool.
• When pie filling has cooled to room temperature, preheat oven and prepare meringue. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large glass or metal bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and cream of tartar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites should form a sharp peak that holds its shape. Spread over pie, making sure the meringue completely covers the filling and meets the edges of the pie crust.
• Bake in preheated oven until meringue topping is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1 and line 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment. First, set up your piping bags. You will need 3 disposable piping bags for the 3 flavours. Using a wet paintbrush, paint lines of undiluted food colouring along the inside of the piping bags. Be quite generous, because you want bold colours. Wash the brush well between each colour so they don't mix. Snip off the end of 1 bag and drop in an extra-large round piping nozzle, then put the bags to one side.
• Tip the egg whites into a large mixing bowl or table-top mixer - make sure it's grease-free before you start. Whisk the eggs with an electric hand whisk or in your mixer, until they hold soft peaks. Begin adding the sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking continuously, until you have a thick and glossy meringue, which will hold up in a stiff peak on the end of the whisk. Divide the meringue into 3 bowls and swirl through your chosen flavourings (to correspond to the piping bag colours). You want to achieve a marbled effect rather than thoroughly mixing it all in.
• Put the piping bag fitted with your nozzle into a tall glass or jug and roll the piping bag down over the lip of the jug to hold it in place. Fill the bag with the correct flavoured meringue to match the colour in the bag. Lift up and twist the end to seal.
• Hold the piping bag about 2cm vertically above the baking tray. Apply an even pressure to the bag, slowly lifting the bag as you squeeze, to make a smooth round meringue, approximately 6cm wide. To finish with a nice peak at the top, push down a little on the mixture then quickly pull the nozzle away.
• Continue until all the mixture in the bag is used up, leaving enough room for the meringues to spread a little. Quickly remove the nozzle, wash it and dry well, then drop in the next piping bag. Continue with the remaining mixtures until it they are all used up and you have 2 trays covered with 3 colours of meringues.
• Bake for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ for the final 30 mins. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks while you make another batch of meringues with the remaining 3 flavours, if you like. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or serve with our flavoured creams (see tips, below).

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. (Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Well wrapped, it will last in the freezer for up to a month.)
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil, fill with pie weights or dried rice, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until pale golden, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling. (Leave the oven on if baking the pie immediately.)
• In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar. Stir in the orange and lemon juices, zest and salt. Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 degrees. Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
• Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18 to 40 minutes. (Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don't give up: The curd will eventually set.) Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for baking the meringue.
• As the filling bakes, make the meringue: Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (160 degrees on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
• Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high, until mixture is thick, fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Spread the meringue over the hot filling, making sure it meets the edges of the crust. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design if you like, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely and top with more orange zest before serving.