Meringues

We seem to have a over supply of eggs at the moment which does not bode well for when our chickens start laying in about a month. We should go from the half dozen that are delivered in our Ooooby box to 14 a week.
As Easter is next weekend Isabella and I decided to deal with the egg glut and use the cartons to decorate for Easter gifts.

The first thing we made was meringues. Our plan is to stick two together with chocolate to make something resembling an egg.

The meringues got a lot bigger while cooking (something to remember next time) so we didn't use them as planned. They were great crumbled over Ambrosia when we had visitors with children. The adults seemed to enjoy them too.
I have kept them in an airtight bag and have found a few different uses for them.

Ingredients

6 egg whites
2 cups Chelsea Caster Sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp cornflour
Pink food colouring
Blue food colouring
Whipped cream to serve or Dairy Free Berry Sauce (see tip below)

Method

In a large bowl (not plastic) beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually, add the Caster sugar very slowly. The mixture should be getting thick with each addition. The whole sugar adding process should take at least 10 minutes. Beat in the essence, vinegar and cornflour.
Put half of the mixture into a separate bowl and, using a few drops of food colouring, colour one bowl pink and the other blue. Spoon mixture out into little 'blobs' onto abaking paper covered tray. Bake in a low 110°C - 120°C oven for 45 minutes.
The meringues should lift off the paper easily.
Cool on a wire rack and jam together with whipped cream, when cold.

Tip: For a dairy free alternative omit the cream and instead drizzle with berry sauce(blitz fresh or frozen berries with a little icing sugar in a food processor). Pour onto meringues just before serving, garnish with extra berries. The fruit will complement the sweetness of the meringues.