These Heart shaped Meringues for Valentines Day are the perfect treat for your valentine or Galentine!
Now most meringue and pavlova recipes call for resting the meringue overnight and if i’m honest I am way too impatient to do this and so my recipe doesn’t call for a super long resting period, instead there are just a few things that you need to do correctly to end up with perfect heart shaped meringue
Tips for making heart shaped meringues
- Separate your egg yolk from the white by cracking an egg into a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and then add each egg one at a time into a separate bowl, do not crack directly into your bowl of egg whites as otherwise you may contaminate the egg whites!
- A fine mesh sieve is key as this separates the more ‘liquidy’ egg white from the more solid egg white, resulting in a stable meringue which is what we want.
- Weigh your egg whites as opposed to focusing on the number of eggs you use. The ratio that I’ve found works best is 150g of egg white (usually 4-5 eggs although this doesn’t matter) and 255g of caster sugar.
- Use 1 and a half table spoons of cornstarch and 1 tsp of malt vinegar to stabilise the meringue, most recipes call for white wine vinegar but i’ve found that malt and apple cider vinegar work really well and don’t compromise the taste!
- When baking meringues, the key is to bake them low and slow! Bake the heart shaped meringues on a low heat very slowly to prevent cracks.
Ingredients
The ingredients list for my heart shaped meringues is super short and most definitely includes ingredients you already have at home. You can customise the toppings to suit tour taste, I went for strawberries and cream which I think is just divine!
- 150g egg white
- 255g caster sugar
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp malt vinegar
- Toppings: 100ml double cream, 6-7 strawberries and flaked almonds.
Method
- Begin by separating your egg yolks from the egg whites by cracking an egg into a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and then adding each egg one at a time into a separate bowl. Do not crack directly into your bowl of egg whites as otherwise you may contaminate the egg whites! Ensure you are weighing your egg whites as you go. This recipe calls for 150g of egg whites.
- Preheat the oven to 130 degrees celcius.
- Place the egg whites into a stand mixer and start to mix them on a medium-high speed for 20 minutes at least.
- Once the egg whites begin to form soft peaks and are past the frothy stage, gradually start to add the sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time until you have incorporated all of the sugar. Allow 20 seconds between each 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Remember to stop the stand mixer and scrape down the sides one or two times.
- Continue to whip the meringue mixture for 10-15 minutes, the end result will be stiff and glossy peaks. Once 5 minutes have passed, add in the cornstarch and vinegar and continue to mix for a further 3 minutes.
- Once stiff glossy peaks form, transfer the meringue mixture into a piping bag and pipe into heart shapes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. See my TikTok post for exactly how I did this.
- Lower the oven to 100 degrees celcius and place the piped heart shaped meringues into the oven. Bake for 80 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time.
- At 80 minutes, switch off the oven and crack open the oven door ever so slightly to allow hot air to escape slowly. Allow the meringues to cool in the oven for 35 minutes, before removing from the oven and allowing them to cool on the counter for a further 25 minutes.
- Whip the double cream, vanilla extract and sugar until thickened.
- Once the heart shaped meringues are cool, you can add on the toppings: I spread on some double cream, quartered strawberries and flaked almonds!
If you like the look of this dessert then you should definitely check out the recipes below for some more amazing dessert ideas:
Heart Shaped Meringues for Valentines day
These Heart shaped Meringues for Valentines Day are the perfect treat for your valentine or galentine!
Ingredients
- 150 g egg white
- 255 g caster sugar
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp malt vinegar
- Toppings: 100ml double cream 6-7 strawberries and flaked almonds.
Instructions
- Begin by separating your egg yolks from the egg whites by cracking an egg into a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and then adding each egg one at a time into a separate bowl, do not crack directly into your bowl of egg whites as otherwise you may contaminate the egg whites! Ensure you are weighing your egg whites as you go. This recipe calls for 150g of egg whites.
- Preheat the oven to 130 degrees celcius.
- Place the egg whites into a stand mixer and start to mix them on a medium-high speed for 20 minutes at least.
- Once the egg whites begin to form soft peaks and are past the frothy stage, gradually start to add the sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time until you have incorporated all of the sugar. Allow 20 seconds between each 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Remember to stop the stand mixer and scrape down the sides one or two times.
- Continue to whip the meringue mixture for 10-15 minutes, the end result will be stiff and glossy peaks. Once 5 minutes have passed, add in the cornstarch and vinegar and continue to mix for a further 3 minutes.
- Once stiff glossy peaks form, transfer the meringue mixture into a piping bag and pipe into heart shapes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. See my TikTok post for exactly how I did this.
- Lower the oven to 100 degrees celcius and place the piped heart shaped meringues into the oven. Bake for 80 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time.
- At 80 minutes, switch off the oven and crack open the oven door ever so slightly to allow hot air to escape slowly. Allow the meringues to cool in the oven for 35 minutes, before removing from the oven and allowing them to cool on the counter for a further 25 minutes.
- Whip the double cream, vanilla extract and sugar until thickened.
- Once the heart shaped meringues are cool, you can add on the toppings: I spread on some double cream , quartered strawberries and flaked almonds!
