Bake of the Week: Rose Meringue Kisses

MERINGUES are a perfect summer treat. Not too heavy, but packed with yumminess – what’s not to love?

We adore this recipe with added rose wine and berry flavouring. It gives the meringues a delicate, fruity flavour. The strawberry-rose caramel glaze just adds to the decadence.

Sandwich them with fresh whipped cream for the ultimate finishing touch.

Thanks to i heart wines for this week’s bake.

You’ll need

300g caster sugar

150g free range egg whites

Light pink food colouring

1 tsp freeze-dried strawberry powder

½ tsp raspberry powder

½ lemon-zested

Slices of dried strawberry to garnish

For the caramel:

100g sugar

1 tbsp i heart Rosé

Method

Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6/400F. Line a baking tray with parchment, pour in caster sugar and heat in oven for 7 mins.

Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Take sugar out of the oven, decrease temp to 100C/80C fan/gas mark 0.5/210F.

With your mixer on full speed, spoon the sugar into the beaten egg whites, making sure the mix comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition. Once all the sugar is added, whisk on full speed for 5 mins.

Fold in strawberry and raspberry powders, and the lemon zest. Take care not to deflate the mixture.

Paint inside of a piping bag with 4-5 spaced out stripes of light pink colour before adding the meringue mix.

Spoon meringue into bag and cut tip off. Pipe out kisses by squeezing from a 2cm height. Pull up to form peaks.

Once piped add a slice of dried strawberry to the meringue. Bake for 35-45 mins.

While meringues cool, make your caramel. Heat the sugar and the i heart Rose in a saucepan over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and turns golden.

Take off the heat and very carefully dip the bases of the kisses into the caramel. Place back on the parchment to cool. Repeat for all kisses.