Lemon Meringues

I had a few egg whites left over after making ice cream, and rather than have very boring scrambled egg whites for lunch, I thought I'd use them to make meringues instead! Now, lemon meringue pie is always a good choice, but as this was a last minute bake I didn't have everything I'd need to make the pastry, so I figured I'd just try making lemon meringues instead - and they turned out brilliantly! They've got an almost pearly sheen to them, and they're lovely and chewy in the middle - just how a meringue should be! This mix makes 12 meringues, the same size as meringue nests that you can find in the supermarkets.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
225g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vinegar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Pre-heat your oven to 120c and line your baking tray(s) with greaseproof paper.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric handheld whisk to whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
With the whisk on low, mix in the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time.
Turn the whisk to high and whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy. It should form stiff peaks and if you hold the bowl upside down, it should stay put!
Once it reaches this stage, add the vinegar, lemon zest and juice and give a final whisk until you're happy it's well combined.

You can put the mixture into a piping bag and pipe the meringues if you'd rather, but you can just use a tablespoon to put heaped dollops of the mix onto the lined trays and spread them into circles with little peaks.

Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave the cooked meringues to cool in the oven for 30 minutes before taking them out and transferring to a wire rack. Serve with fresh fruit and cream, or yoghurt and lemon curd.