Last week I shared a number of egg-free substitutes to get creative in the kitchen... this week I am sharing my egg-free meringue recipe which is the perfect introduction to using aquafaba, the smelly leftover water that you can find in the bottom of your chickpea can!
When sourcing your chickpeas, do try and find preferably salt-free and organic tins such as Sainsbury's organic or Biona's organic... as the salt changes the flavour and you really only need the pure water.
Recipe:
the liquid from one drained can of chickpeas
125 grams of caster sugar
three small pinches of cream of tartar
Method:
Set your oven to 50 degrees celsius and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
First whip up your chilled aquafaba for 5-10 minutes on your highest electric whisk setting. I use a Kenwood's electric whisk. The aquafaba should be ready when it is forming stiff peaks and you can hold the bowl over your head!
Then add the caster sugar, one teaspoon at a time. This will make the batter lovely and glossy. Then finally add in three small pinches of cream of tartar until fully combined.
Spoon out big dessert spoonfuls of your batter to make 9-10 large meringues. Space these out evenly as they will spread in the oven.
Bake for 6 hours until crisp on the outside and they sound hollow when tapped on their bottoms. Turn the oven off and leave them in there until it has cooled.
Immediately transfer to an air-tight container and enjoy!
