Suspiros - Meringues

Suspiros (meringues) are as the name implies little meringues baked usually for kids parties or as treats. They can be white or coloured, I have tried to make them in the past with little success mostly it's the part where they burned or flatten up I am pretty sure it's the oven temperature that's to blame but can't be sure. Some blogs and websites claim that it is easy to bake them and it is a myth that they are hard to get right, however, my experience is that they are easy to prepare but difficult to bake. So I've decided to try again and document my experiment. I found a few recipes most of them same ingredients and quantities but found two that add something different one is with cream tartar and the other one with baking powder.

I did some research and apparently meringues have better consistency and crispiness from the outside and soft inside if we add some acid to the mixture after the sugar and that includes either white vinegar, lemon or cream of tartar, apparently these ingredients are stabilisers for the egg white beating and are recommended for meringues and pavlovas. I didn't find references as to why some recipes have baking powder so it seems that cream of tartar or Lemon juice is the way to go.

I also found some advice for a perfect meringue and it's to clean the mixer and bowl thoroughly so all the possible grease is out even rub the mixer and bowl with a slice of lemon before mixing the eggs whites.

But my biggest concern is the temperature some people suggest bake at 140C until the meringues can be taken off the baking paper easily, others 100C and one chef suggested 60C or lowest setting of the oven for about 6 hours. I truly thing this is the crucial part, so I'll compromised and bake them at 75C and see what happens, always hope for the best!

Ingredients: Make approx. 16 - 20 medium sized meringues

- 1 cup of caster sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 of cream of tartar
- baking paper
- 1 lemon slice, optional

If you really want to make sure your oven is not too hot, you might want to buy an oven thermometer.

Preparation:

1- Make sure all your equipment is clean and dry, you can use a lemon slice and rub the equipment with it to get rid of any traces of grease that might spoil your meringue besides the acidity of the lemon is a stabiliser for the meringue.

2- Pre heat your oven at 75C.

3- Crack the eggs and separate the yolk from the egg white, make sure only egg white is in the mixing bowl.

4- Start mixing the egg whites with your mixer/manual mixing once the mixture looks foamy start adding the sugar one spoon at a time.

5- After all sugar has been added, add cream of tartar. Keep mixing until peaks are formed. Mixture will look white and shiny.

Mixture looks shiny and forms soft peaks

6- On a tray previously prepared with baking paper spoon your meringues to your desired size and shape, I used a squeezing decorating bottle.

I used these kit to shape my meringues, works fine really liked it!

7- Place the meringues in the oven and bake for 2 to 4 hours, cooking times depend on the sizes of your meringues, my medium sized meringues took between 3 1/2 to 4 hours to cook perfectly but the little ones took only 2 hours. You'll know they are ready if they look crisp and if they are easily separated from the baking paper. Also, you might want to try one and check is cooked all the way through.

Beautiful!

Finally, I got a recipe that worked for me and yes, it needs love and patience but such a great sweet treat, totally worth it. Just had to overcome the need to increase temperature to make cook faster =)

Hopefully this recipe works out for you as well.

Enjoy!