Recently there is a trend for unicorn cakes, drip cakes and number cakes and the one thing these all have in common is how perfect they look finished off with little meringues.
Meringues are a great way to add colour and a different texture to your cakes rather than just buttercream, and the best thing is they are so easy to make with just two ingredients. So in this weeks video tutorial I am going to show you how I make my meringue kisses and swirled rosettes, and also different ways you can colour them.
The meringues that I make in this video are French meringues and are made by whisking egg whites until light and fluffy with nice peaks, and adding in caster sugar at a ration of 2:1. So for 100g of egg whites you need 200g of caster sugar. This is combined with the egg whites slowly until the granules of sugar have all dissolved to give a thick, silky, smooth mixture. You can then add flavours and colours to your mixture before you pipe them into your desired shapes. Gel colours work best as their colour is more concentrated and they add less wet ingredients to your mixture.
If you are finding that your mixture is just isn’t thickening once you add your sugar it may be because your egg whites were not whisked enough at the start. Your meringues will also work best when your egg whites are at room temperature. If your eggs are too cold you can pop them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to warm up before separating them.
I then bake these at 100°C for between 45 minutes – 1 Hour depending on the size of your meringues. If you were to bake something a little larger like meringues nest you may want to back them for a little longer. You are looking for a nice crunchy shell with a soft center. By keeping your oven low your meringues will retain their white colour, else they can have a slightly ivory tinge. Once the meringues are ready turn the oven off and let them cool before removing them. They are then ready to add to your cake creations.
Here is a an example of a cake with my meringues added. I love how it looks with the different varieties of styles. I added these to a 6 inch cake covered in this light pink buttercream with a few sprinkles on one side and a white royal icing drip on the other. I think my husband summed up this cake perfectly when he called it a ‘styled mess’.
I really hope you find this weeks tutorial / recipe useful and if you haven’t make meringues before will enjoy adding them to your cakes.
Also why not save the recipe for later and pin it to Pinterest
how long do the meringues last on the cake before they lose their crunch?
I tested a cake with meringues and the meringues wilted within a day. It’s best eaten right away.
I loved it, beautiful
Thank you so much Cecilia
Hello there,
I Just made the cake with meringues. It is for a birthday tomorrow.. will it be ok?
Thanks a million,
Sarah
Hi Sarah, Yes they will definitely be ok. You just don’t want to put the cake in the fridge. The meringues need to stay away from moisture, so just keep the cake in a cool dry place and it will be fine.
Fantastic, beautiful work of art!!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Adeola.
loved your tutorial. Will make these for my hubby’s birthday cake:) thank you.
I am so glad you enjoyed it. These are so fun to make and I love how they look on cakes.
Hello, roughly how long did you bake the bigger meringues for?
Just wondered if that’s 100C in a regular or fan oven?
Hi Kate, I always use a regular oven setting for baking as I find with a fan oven it can bake the outside alot quicker than the inside.
If you were to bake them in preparation of putting them on the cake how long will they last?
Can I bake them a day or two in advance or need to do it the same day?
Hi Kimberley, You can definitely bake them a few days in advance. Once cooled pop them in an airtight container at room temperature and they can last a few weeks.