Yummy Meringues

Whats better than homemade meringues mixed with delicious freshly picked raspberries…delicious!!!

what you need…

• 3 medium eggs
• 175g caster sugar
• electric whisk
• tablespoons
• baking sheet
• parchment paper

what to do…

1. preheat the oven to 110c
2. whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until the mixture stands in stiff peaks
3. gradually add the caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to whisk
4. continue whisking until the meringue mixture is very stiff and shiny
5. using two large spoons shape the meringues into ovals, spacing them out onto the lined baking sheets and place in the oven for 2 hours (may need a little longer depending)
6. carefully peal back the meringues and transfer to a cooling rack
7. once cool, serve with fresh fruit and cream!!! Yummy!!!

into a little dream adventure…

• The inspiration behind making meringues one afternoon this summer, was after taking my own children fresh fruit picking. We had a wonderful morning, picking the most delicious fresh raspberries and strawberries at a local fruit picking farm. It was a lovely time spent with children, out in the fresh air, recognising the different fruits and vegetables being grown, and acknowledging a ripe fruit from the over ripe and the not yet ripe fruit!!! how the colours and texture of the fruit helped them to determine this. Talking to them about how some of the fruits grow low to the ground and others on tall bushes, how some need shelter depending on the softness of the fruit skins and how other fruits can handle the more wet and windy weather conditions, so don’t need to be covered by fruit tunnels. Understanding quantity, and discussing who had the largest amount and who had the smallest amount.
• Once home not only did we have a wonderful time making meringues and eating our freshly picked raspberries, we enjoyed playing simple maths games, such as laying a line of raspberries out on the table and counting how many we have. What happens if we eat 1 raspberry, how many do we have left!!! what happens if we eat 2 raspberries, how many do we have left etc…and then the more peckish of us, added some more raspberries to the line!!! making simple addition. This could then be extended further, encouraging your child to write the simple sums out, practising their written number skills.
• if you are lucky enough to have picked plenty of fruit, or if you just fancy a different idea for a fun pudding with friends, use fruit to make fruit kebabs. A simple but very effective and fun way of encouraging young children to eat fruit!!! it also encourages fine motor control and hand eye co-ordination.