Eggless vanilla meringue with macerated fruit

Yes, you can make vegan meringue.

Eggless meringue recipe

Just when you think you’ve heard of all of the pantry items out there, you find out about a new one that you should probably add to your list: aquafaba. It’s the cool new egg white substitute that you can easily find in areas with more advanced vegan food scenes; and it's that semi-opaque liquid you strain out after opening a can of chickpeas.

Without getting into too much of the nitty-gritty, the liquid inside canned chickpeas is full of protein (much like a standard egg white) because of the intensity of the cooking process the cans go through. The result is a protein liquid that can be used in a million different ways, from meringues and icings to soups and stocks as a thickener, to mayonnaise, and even as faux-egg white cocktails.

Try out this simple recipe for vegan meringue with fresh fruit to see how you can turn this magical liquid into a delicious, summery dessert that everyone around your dinner table can enjoy.

 

 

 

Meringue

1 cup aquafaba
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup cane sugar, approximately

Place aquafaba, vanilla and cream of tartar into a stand mixer or a bowl and whip on high until light and very foamy, about 3 minutes.

Continue to whip while very slowly pouring in cane sugar. As you whip, the foamy mixture will begin to turn solid white.

After about 5 minutes of whipping, see if the meringue holds stiff peaks. If mixture appears to be too viscous still, whip for a minute or two longer and add a small amount of extra sugar if needed.

Remove mixing bowl, cover and keep cool in refrigerator until ready to serve.

 

Fruit mixture

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
2 apricots, pitted and thinly sliced
2 nectarines, pitted and thinly sliced
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp port
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
chopped walnuts, for garnish

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss gently until port and maple syrup have evenly coated the fruit. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, spoon out meringue onto 6 small plates, top each with some of the fruit mixture, followed by walnuts.

Yield:
6 servings, plus more meringue for later
Prep Time:
20 mins