Meringue Ghosts
Meringue is not baked, it is dried, which is why it has to stay white. A hundred and five degrees, an hour and a half, and then several more hours in the switched-off oven with the door ajar — that last stage is what makes a ghost brittle all the way through instead of tacky in the middle. The eyes go on the moment they are piped, while the surface is still damp.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 h 30 min
- Rest
- 2 h
- Total
- 3 h 55 min
- Servings
- 12
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 70 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
A teaspoon of vinegar or a pinch of cream of tartar replaces the citric acid; all of them are stabilisers doing the same job.
Makes: 24 ghosts
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Prepare the bowl
Wipe the bowl and whisk with a cut lemon and dry them. The faintest trace of fat and the whites will not whip, however long you try.
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Step 2: Whip the whites
With a mixer, whisk on medium to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. At this stage it should look like shaving foam, not snow.
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Step 3: Add the sugar
Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time without stopping the mixer, and only then the citric acid. Wait 15 seconds between spoonfuls so the sugar can dissolve.
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Step 4: Test between your fingers
Whisk to stiff, glossy peaks, 6–8 minutes. Rub a little between your fingers: if you feel grains, keep going, or the meringue will weep syrup in the oven.
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Step 5: Pipe the ghosts
Transfer to a bag with a plain round nozzle and pipe 5 cm columns onto parchment, flicking the nozzle sharply upward at the end to leave a pointed tuft.
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Step 6: Add the eyes
Press two chocolate chips, flat side in, into each ghost straight away. Within a few minutes the surface skins over and they will not stay put.
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Step 7: Dry them
Dry at 105°C for 1–1.5 hours. They are ready when they lift cleanly off the parchment and sound hollow when tapped underneath.
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Step 8: Leave them in
Turn the oven off, prop the door open and leave the ghosts inside for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. That is what dries the centres.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Do not make meringue on a damp day with the window open: sugar pulls moisture from the air and the surface stays tacky despite all those hours.
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Variation
No nozzle needed — pipe from a snipped corner of a bag. The ghosts come out less even, which suits them.
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Swap
A teaspoon of vinegar or a pinch of cream of tartar replaces the citric acid; all of them are stabilisers doing the same job.
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Storage
An airtight tin at room temperature, up to two weeks. Never the fridge, where meringue goes soft overnight.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 12 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 70 kcal | 840 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 12 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17 g | 204 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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