Are vegan meringues possible? Yes!
The recipe uses aqaufaba, which is the juice from a tin of chickpeas” This acts like an egg white and the liquid triples in size when it’s whisked, becoming glossy, white and stiff.
Just make sure you avoid buying chickpeas in salted water, otherwise you’ll end up with salty meringues . . .
There’s also a good amount of whisking involved so a hand-held electric whisker is recommended.
Original recipe from So Vegan.
Serves : 10 ghosts
Prep Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 2 hours, plus 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
- 80ml or 1/3 cup aquafaba
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 50g or 1/4 cup white caster sugar
- 5 tbsp icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp activated charcoal
- 1/2 tbsp water
INSTRUCTIONS
Transfer the aquafaba and apple cider vinegar to a large mixing bowl, then use a hand-held electric whisk to whisk the liquid for around 8 minutes, or until it has doubled in size and holds its peaks.
Next add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking as you go for around 3 minutes until the aquafaba is glossy and stiff.
Preheat the oven to 100°C (210°F) fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Transfer the meringue mixture to a piping bag with a large round tip (around 1cm wide). Hold the piping bag vertically upright and pipe the ghosts by creating three circles on top of each other. Make sure the base circle is at least 7cm wide and you pipe straight so the meringues don’t fall over when they bake. Repeat until all of the meringues has been used up (you should have around 10 ghosts).
Bake the meringues in the oven for 2 hours then turn the oven off and leave the meringues inside for a further 1 hour so they are completely firm and dry. Avoid opening the oven, otherwise the meringues might not remain firm.
To prepare the icing, combine the icing sugar, activated charcoal and 1/2 tbsp of water in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Then transfer to a piping bag with a small tip (a few millimetres).
Use the black icing to pipe eyes and a mouth onto each ghost.
Serve immediately or keep in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.