Sunday 3 April 2016

Vegan Meringues


I'm pretty sure I said on Wednesday that I was going to publish this post on Friday and yet I'm now only finishing writing it late on Sunday night.  Please forgive me, I've been sorting out coursework (prototype demonstration is in 11 days, final presentation is in 23 days, my final assessment is due in 36 days, and I'll be graduating in 101 days).  In fact, during the writing of this post, over 50% of my final assessment (a 4000 word individual reflective report) has accidentally been written and this actually took the place of an afternoon nap.  This post is now only being posted late on Sunday night following doing more coursework and also watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  I don't know how much time I'll have over the next month to write posts each week because of coursework and other things, but I'll try my best to at the very least post on time.  I also have something special planned for my 100th post on this blog, so look out for that in the next fortnight or so.

So this week's post is for vegan-friendly meringues.  Remember how we had a can of chickpeas in last week's falafel recipe?  Well, the chickpeas in those cans are surrounded in a liquid that can be known as "aquafaba" (bean water) that can be used as a replacement for eggs in some recipes.  This recipe from Slate uses chickpea water to make meringues that are vegan-friendly and could be used in different desserts, such as nests for Easter or a vegan version of Eton Mess!

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas (you can save the chickpeas for something like hummus or falafel)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Instructions

  1. Drain the can of chickpeas by holding a sieve over a cup, and pouring the contents of the can into the sieve.  The chickpeas will remain in the sieve while the chickpea water will filter through into the cup.
  2. Using a free-standing mixer (i.e. a Kitchen Aid) or a hand whisk, whip the chickpea water for approximately 15 minutes until the chickpea water becomes white and fluffy in texture and forms stiff peaks.
  3. Add caster sugar and continue to mix.
  4. Add vanilla essence and continue to mix.
  5. Scoop the mixture onto a baking paper lined tray using a tablespoon to form round cookie-like portions.
  6. Place the tray in the oven preheated to 120 degrees Celsius or 250 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for approximately 90 minutes.
  7. Leave to cool before serving.


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