Meringue spiders

These meringue spiders are simple to make and fab for little halloween party goers with a sweet tooth! Don’t let your littlies have too many though if you ever want them to go to bed on Halloween night!

I tend to guess make when making meringues, but I found a really great recipe online to share with you.

You’ll need:

4 eggs

115g caster sugar

Black writing icing

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to fan 100C/ conventional 110C/gas 1?4. Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
2. Tip the 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
3. Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It’s important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
4. Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don’t over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy, almost like a snow drift.
5. Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape (pic 3). Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer. Bake for 1 1?2-1 3?4 hours in a fan oven, 1 1?4 hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour. Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack.

Recipe from BBC good food guide.