Meringue Mushrooms Recipe
User Reviews
5
Meringue Mushrooms Recipe
Description
This recipe starts with beating egg whites combined with granulated sugar, cream of tartar, and salt until glossy, stiff peaks form. The meringue is then piped into shapes resembling mushroom caps and stems on parchment paper, with caps shaped like swirled kisses and stems taller and narrower.
Baked slowly at 200°F for 1.5 hours, the meringues dry out to become crisp and firm yet light enough to allow easy removal from parchment. After cooling, the smooth meringue pieces can be decorated with melted semi-sweet chocolate to complete the mushroom illusion.
Keeping the environment dry and using cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites and prevents the meringues from becoming hollow or sticky. Organic granulated sugar is avoided as its coarseness affects quality. These meringue mushrooms serve well as edible decorations or delicate treats for special desserts or holiday presentations.
Ingredients
For the Meringue Mushrooms:
- 2 egg room temp (if you forgot, put them in warm water for 15 min, large, whites
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips melted, semi-sweet
Tools you'll need:
- A large cookie sheet
- parchment paper
- Wilton 2A tip with a piping bag or use a big ziploc bag and a 3/8″ round hole cut in the corner, it just won't be as easy to pipe.
Instructions
Prep: Preheat Oven to 200° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (not wax paper).
- Add 2 egg whites, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp cream of tartar and beat with whisk attachment on high speed 7 min or until you have glossy ribbons and the peaks stay fairly stiff.
- Transfer meringue to your pastry bag fitted with a 3/8" round tip and pipe onto lined cookie sheet (about 1″ apart). Mushroom caps should look like large chocolate kisses (1 1/2" diameter at the base) with the tip swirled into the side so you get an even top. If you're a perfectionist; you can smooth the mushroom caps with a wet fingertip. Mushroom stems should look like slimmer/taller kisses (3/4" diameter at the base) and tips pointed up.
- Bake at 200˚F for 1 hour 30 min. They should slide easily off the parchment paper easily when they are done. Remove from oven and pull parchment paper off the baking sheet. Let cool on paper completely to room temp. Note: When they come out of the oven, they will be crisp on the outside and a little marshmallowy on the inside, but will harden as they cool.
- To assemble, dust the tops and stems lightly with cocoa powder. If you like, you can smudge the cocoa powder with your fingers to give them that natural dirty glow :). Rotate the tip of a small paring knife in the center of each mushroom cap to cut a small hole just large enough to fit the tip of the base.
- Now melt chocolate, transfer into a ziploc bag, snip off a tiny hole from the corner of the bag and pipe chocolate into the holes of meringue. Stick the bases into the holes and leave them upside-down until chocolate hardens and sets. Gently transfer set cookies to an airtight container and store for several days at room temp. Do not refrigerate.
Notes
- Use cream of tartar to stabilize egg whites and avoid hollow meringues.
- Best made and stored on dry days at room temperature; humidity can cause stickiness.
- Organic granulated sugar is not recommended due to coarse texture.
- Room temperature eggs whip better; if cold, place in warm water for 15 minutes before use.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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