There’s something incredibly feminine about meringues. Maybe it’s the shape in which they are piped, twirling skirts dancing on the oven sheet; maybe it’s their white colour, made bronze at the right places with a fire torch or in the oven. The way you can mess about with them and they would still be unapologetically beautiful.

Being so sweet, I would say they aren’t at the top of the list of my kind of dessert. Yet, I came about this recipe on Food52 in a moment when I wanted to use some leftover egg whites, and then after binge watching old seasons of The Great British Bake Off, I decided I wanted to learn how to make meringues. With 11-12 whites left, believe me when I say I made meringues for the neighbourhood. For this recipe, use 6 and it will make you 3 dozens(!).

Ingredients:
6 egg whites
2 cups sugar
100g dark chocolate chips

Step 1 – Start by preheating the oven at 130℃. Line two baking sheets with oven paper.

Step 2 – Place the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and gently cook in a Bain Marie, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.

Step 3 – Place the warm egg and sugar mix into a bigger bowl and beat it with an electric mixer until you get stiff shiny peaks. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chocolate chips and either fold with a spatula or keep mixing with the electric mixer at a lower level until all chocolate chips are evenly distributed in the mix.

Step 4 – You can either scoop large spoonfuls onto the baking sheet, or use a piping bag to make fun, delicate shapes. They shouldn’t spread but try to leave one inch between your meringues.

Step 5 – Bake for 45 minutes, until they are crunchy on the outside and gooey and chewy in the middle (you’ve got to break one to check that they are cooked, but kept moist). Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them carefully. Even better, if you bake in the evening, let them rest in the oven all night.

We crushed some of the meringues in fresh homemade yogurt, and it made a wonderful dessert! And you, do you like meringues? Would you ever put chocolate in them?