Matcha Mini Meringues
Servings: 32 mini meringues
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR MERINGUES
- 330 g golden castor sugar or plain white caster sugar
- 2 level tsp Matcha powder culinary grade
- 210 to 250 g egg whites room temperature, approximately 6 to 7 eggs
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tbls cornflour
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPING
- 2 tbls raw pepitas chopped
- icing sugar for sprinkling once baked
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees (fan forced)
- Arrange racks in oven so that one is towards the base and the other is at least two levels up allowing plenty of room in-between
- Line two large baking trays with baking paper (dab a little oil on baking sheet to hold paper in place)
- Ensure bowl and butterfly are clean (see note above)
- Insert butterfly, put lid on TM bowl and place a container for your sugar on top
- Weigh your sugar into the container, then remove 3 tablespoons of it to a smaller container and mix it well with the Matcha powder … ensure there are no lumps in the sugar or the Matcha/sugar mix before starting (I use the back of a spoon to press into the sugar to do this)
- Place eggs whites and cream of tartar into bowl and whip 2 minutes / 50 / speed 4 (no MC)
- Set blades to 10 minutes / speed 2 (no heat) and with blades rotating slowly add the caster sugar one teaspoon at a time through the hole in the lid … this should take you about 7 minutes
- Once you have done that, again slowly add the Matcha/sugar mix one teaspoon at a time through the hole in the lid … this will take you about 2 minutes leaving about a minute before the 10 minutes is up (if this isn't the case, continue for 1 more minute to ensure that all the sugar is incorporated)
- Lift the lid and create a little space around butterfly, then add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla and mix 10 seconds / speed 2
- Using two long handled teaspoons (or whatever else you like), place two spoonfulls one on top of the other, onto the baking tray for each meringue (do not flatten as they will flatten in the oven … you want them sitting nice and high), placing them well part to allow for expansion in the oven
- Sprinkle meringues with chopped pepitas
- Place the trays into oven, close the door and reduce temperature to 120 degrees
- Bake for 50 minutes
- Switch off oven and leave to cool for at least 3 hours until completely cool (I usually leave it overnight)
- When ready to remove from the baking tray, sprinkle well with icing sugar and place into a sealed container
Notes
There are many “rules” on how to make a good meringue, but for me the most important ones are:
1. Your bowl must be clean and free of fat residue – whether you use a Kenwood, Mixmaster, Kitchen Aid or Thermomix. So when using a Thermomix I always start with cleaning the bowl and my butterfly first (to ensure there is no fat residue under the blades or on the butterfly). To do this place your butterfly in TM bowl, fill with water to the 1 litre mark, add 30g white vinegar, and heat 10 minutes / Veroma / speed 2. When finished remove the butterfly, flick off the water and put aside, empty the bowl, wipe clean with kitchen paper and allow to cool (residual heat in the bowl will ensure it is dry which is also important).
2. Egg whites must be completely pure with no egg yolk in them … egg yolks = fat, which will give you the same result as fat smears in your bowl, meaning your egg whites will not whip to their full extent and will flop.
3. It is best to use either a castor sugar (fine ground sugar) or icing sugar (powdered sugar) as it dissolves more evenly in the meringue mix (I prefer to use caster sugar). There are also two camps on whether you should use new or old (known as “aged”) egg whites … I am on the side of using “aged” whites. I came to this decision after extensive research, reading what chefs in general practice (Adriano Zumbo … the egg white king in my view, never uses fresh egg whites as he gets more volume with “aged” whites), and decided I would follow that practice too. So I save my egg whites in the freezer, and take them out a couple of days before I need them, leaving them in a covered container on the bench. If you don’t have frozen egg whites simply separate your eggs the day before you need them (make a custard, lemon curd, mayo, ice-cream, or an omelette in an Asian rice dish out of your yolks) and leave the whites in a covered container on the bench (not in the fridge).
I usually make my Pavlova or meringues late in the day (around 5pm) so that once cooked they can remain in the oven overnight, removing them the next morning. If you don’t have time to do this you will need to leave them in the oven for at least 3 hours to dry out, but they are definitely better left overnight if possible.
For this recipe you will need two large baking trays giving you 32 mini meringues. They will stay crisp in a sealed container for 3 to 4 days (possibly longer but we have eaten them in that time). They are perfect served with a cuppa and are a great alternative to offering chocolate at the end of a dinner meal.