Dear Liza,
Watching all theGreat British Baking Shows in re-runs gets me inspired, I hunted up a new recipe online and gave it a go. I found a yellow cake recipe, with eight (8!) egg yolks and I figured I could add some cocoa into some of the batter and it would be a fine marble cake.
Well, between several false starts (like forgetting to put the sugar in at the right time) and chocolate batter that was like concrete, it was a terrible cake. It is, however, a cake. So I ate it, though I didn’t ask anyone else to.
All this lead to eight homeless egg whites in the fridge. So, what else was I to do but try my hand at meringues?
Eight egg whites and half a teaspoon of salt, whipped to soft peaks, can welcome a cup of white sugar a bit at a time, and then a touch of vanilla and food coloring. Whip for ten minutes, tops, and you have lovely, sturdy, pink meringue! I was stunned.
I got the piping bag and made a few different shapes to see what was most successful. Baked at 120 F for an hour and a half, then left on the sheets to cool in the oven, they were ready to eat. Tiny kisses were easiest get off the sheets, and tight spirals were mostly successful.
More fragile shapes shattered and got eaten on the spot, but little kisses and swirls were bagged up for neighborly gifting.
I love kitchen experiments. Even the failures are usually delicious.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 