Leftover eggwhites?

When you make Zabaglione, there are eggwhites leftover.  An ambitious person can make any number of things from them, including many beautiful silver or white cakes.  A lazy person can make meringues.  I am actually not the meringue person in this family.  eg whips them up as easily as other people scramble an egg.

This is what I made when I stumbled over that bowl of three eggwhites a while back.

3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (or a single drop of lemon juice)
a few grains of salt
1 cup/210 g sugar

You can make as much or as little as you want, just keep the ratios correct. Make sure your bowl and beaters are scrupulously clean because a tiniest bit of oil or fat, even if it is from the atmosphere, will prevent your meringue from rising up and astounding you.

Everything should be at room temperature. Beat the eggs with the salt and cream of tartar (or drop of lemon) until foamy, then slowly add the sugar while continuing to beat. It will grow and grow and mound up like a veritable Alp. You have to stop occasionally once it is really mounding to see if when you pull the beaters up a peak forms. If it does, does the top stay pointed, or does it flop over? Beat until it stays pointed.

It’s easiest by far to use baking paper or parchment to bake these. Lay it on a baking sheet and using a spoon (or a pastry bag if you like) form little nests. Depending on the size you will be able to make 6-8 of them from 3 eggwhites.

Slide them into an oven heated to 275°F/135°C and bake for an hour. Turn the heat off and leave them at least 2 more hours.

What you see above is simply strawberries spooned into a meringue shell do that the juices seep into it, then whipped cream on top of that anf more strawberries used to garnish the top. Simple but pretty and an easy to make ahead summer dessert. It’s equally good using any of summer’s soft fruits. It’s the tart for he who doesn’t want to make pastry.

Perhaps even more astounding is using the shell to hold ice cream, homemade usually preferred, and then covering it with a fruit coulis or sauce. I recall having such a day dream in Georgetown with French vanilla ice cream and warm rhubarb sauce. Yes.