Meringues.

Would you like a chocolate eclair or a meringue?
No, you're no wrang, I'll have an eclair

(Glaswegian joke)

That's fine peasbloosom. - the sponge was fine to eat - which we did when it came out of the microwave - lovely and light etc but there was a small piece left and that is the bit which went very hard in a short time. I just would not use a microwave enough - I only really used it to start off jacket potatoes if I was short of time! - just not worth it for me.

Welshwife I've cooked many sponge puddings in the microwave and they've always been lovely. Depending on the size of course, they only take about four minutes. Try cooking for a shorter time, not forgetting that it carries on cooking after you remove it from the microwave. I love using it for sponge puddings. Sorry, I don't mean to tell you how to cook! Just that my experience has been good.

I used to make meringues years ago, with no problems. They were chewy in the middle, just the way I like them. I changed my oven and now they never turn out well.
I did read that you have to make sure your bowl is grease free. I don't mean dirty! Just that there is no trace of previous baking ingredients.
Thanks for the microwave recipe. I think I will give it a go.

weigh the egg whites and use the same weight of caster sugar. Eggs come in different sizes and i like the extra large ones.
Most boughtt eggs are already a few days old.

Just caster sugar and egg white in my meringues. I usually make individual blobs and cook them for about two hours in a very slow oven. They always come out chewy in the middle which I like.

At Christmas I sprinkle a bit of demerara sugar over before baking (looks pretty), and then serve them with cream whipped up with some very strong instant coffee solution and a couple of measures of whisky. There are never any leftovers!

Cross post Amber22...! I'm a slow typist.....

annifrance

I've made microwave merangues very successfully. Just beat an egg white slightly, sieve in as much icing sugar as it takes to form a paste, roll into balls and cook on baking parchment, watching them carefully - as soon as they puff up, remove from microwave and put on rack to cool.
Little ones (marble sized) only take 10 - 12 seconds, but I made the base of a pavlova by using a ball about the size of a tennis ball... They spread out A LOT, so cook all except the smallest separately.

I've made microwave meringues, here's the recipe;
6oz icing sugar to half an egg white
beat egg white lightly, then beat sugar in till it's firm.
divide into 24 balls, place 6 at a time on parchment in microwave and cook on Full for 1 min 20 seconds, cool on a wire rack, repeat with the rest.
You see it's very quick, and now egg whites are available in cartons probably a bit easier. The beating to get a firm consistency was th most difficult bit.
Then you could melt chocolate in the microwave, dip some of the meringues in that, and sandwich together with cream.

Mine always come out well with this recipe:

4oz caster sugar to one large egg white

Make sure bowl is very cool first then whisk the egg whites in mixer. When they are stiff, turn electric whisker down and very gradually add a tablespoon of sugar until all has been whisked. Now turn whisk even lower and add A tablespoon of cornflour plus a dash of vanilla essence. Cook on Gas two fir an hour, then lower for another hour. Turn cooker off and leave them in until oven is completely cold. You can also add colouring if you want pink meringues . I usually make Lemon Meringue Pie. Always successful this way. ?

I do remember from school that you used icing sugar for the little ones and caster sugar for the toppings (e.g. for lemon meringue).

Or was it the other way round?

I do the same Joelise, and keep the egg whites at room temperature. I do find you can keep egg whites in the fridge for about 2 weeks and these are perfect for meringues. They also freeze well.

For Pavlova I sometimes add one or all of cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence.

I am reading all your ideas with interest as I have never made meringues successfully. They usually end up being the basis for an Eton Mess dessert. I've had marginally better results since I invested in a Kenwood mixer and whipped the mixture until it was almost warm. My mother made lovely meringues without the benefit of mod cons and with a temperamental gas oven!

Very very slow cooking is the thing. I have an electric oven that takes forever to cool down, so they are easy to cook slowly in the cooling oven.
there is a recipe [don't know where] for meringues made with very hot sugar; put in the hot oven to zap, then cooked more slowly - a cross between Italian meringue and the normal French(?) meringues.

I always cook overnight in the warming drawer on its highest temperature. They come out beautifully white!?

Don't use fresh eggs, use ones that are a few days old,you get a much better meringue, two ounces of caster sugar to every egg white.

I only make meringue for a lemon meringue pie.
Or a fruit flan with meringue topping.

I dont/ cant make them at all, a shame as i love them. The last time i tried 30 or mOre years ago, i had to put the mixture through a sieve. Cant remember how or why that happened, but my friend never fails to remind me...am i never allowed to forget? But oh, how we laughed.

I make mine Daquoise using ground hazels. Whipped cream and fresh raspberries folded in jelly.

I only use egg white and caster sugar. Follow a Delia recipe. Cook for one hour and leave in cooling oven overnight. Works well every time. I usually do a Pavlova rather than individual meringues.

www.facebook.com/mumsnet/videos/10152789319419025/

I don't use vinegar or cornflour either and dry them overnight in my hot trolley.

I think Mumsnet have a clever one. Egg white with icing sugar.

When I first got a microwave many moons ago the book that came with it had a recipe for meringues. I made some for my mum as she left vedo them. As far as I can recall, they were not at all bad. However, the book is long gone and I can't remember the recipe (30-odd years ago!).