Gooey Meringue

Method

• step 1

  Preheat the oven to 110c and Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

• step 2

  Tip the 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks.

• step 3

  Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It’s important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.

• step 4

  Fold in the a third of the icing sugar with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Again, don’t over-mix. Fold in the rest , The mixture should now look smooth and billowy, almost like a snow drift.

• step 5

  Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture (or pipe but sometimes this can cause the meringues to drop). Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet. Bake for 1 1⁄2-1 3⁄4 hours in a fan oven (100C), 1 1⁄4 hours in a conventional or gas oven (110C), until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour. Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.)