Mini Meringues With A Hidden Chocolate Surprise

Cute and colourful mini meringues that are crisp on the outside and chewy inside are so easy to bake yourself! I've added Cadbury Mini Eggs to turn my mini meringues into an exciting Easter themed treat.

For years I thought baking mini meringues was too much faff, I worried it would be difficult to get the chewy inside, crispy outside texture and thought they might be difficult to pipe. I needn't have worried because baking your own mini meringues is so easy and so much fun.

You can add all sorts of treats to the centre, it doesn't have to be mini eggs - smarties, maltesers or minstrels would work just as well. Or even mini marshmallows. The mini meringue possibilities are endless!

And of course, you could just use leave them plain. It's entirely up to you.

For this recipe, you will need: a stand mixer or handheld electric whisk, egg whites, caster sugar (superfine for US readers), gel food colouring, disposable piping bags and mini eggs.

What are the three types of meringue?

There are three different types of meringue and the way in which the sugar is added will determine what sort of meringue you end up with.

French meringue is the uncooked type where sugar and egg whites are whisked together and commonly used as a topping, for lemon meringue pie, for example.

Swiss meringue is made by heating sugar and egg whites over a bain marie, this results in a thicker meringue which can be baked or used for pie topping.

Italian meringue is where the sugar is heated and then added to whisked egg whites and this is similar to the method I'll be showing you today.

I learnt everything I know about making meringues from The Meringue Girls cookery books. If you want to experiment with meringue making (and other delicious treats) then I highly recommend the books.

Italian meringue is achieved by heating the caster sugar to a syrup and pouring it straight into the egg whites but we're going to do it the easy way by heating the sugar in the oven and then adding it spoonful by spoonful into the egg whites.

It's really easy, I promise. This is my favourite way of getting that slightly chewy centre.

If you like really crisp meringues without the chewy centre then try the Swiss meringue method instead.

Meringue troubleshooting

My meringue deflated what did I do wrong? 

Make sure your utensils and bowl are spotlessly clean before attempting meringue. Wash bowls and whisk attachments in hot soapy water dry them thoroughly then put some white wine vinegar on a piece of kitchen towel and wipe them over to ensure there's no grease. 

When separating the egg whites from the yolk if you get any yolk in the whites this will also make your meringues fail.

Older egg whites won't hold the air bubbles as well as fresher egg whites so take that into consideration before baking mini meringues.

Why didn't my meringue cook/dry out in the oven? 

If you're using a traditional oven the temperature should be 120ºC. For a convection (fan) oven lower the temperature to 100ºC. You can use a thermometer if your oven is unreliable.

Mini meringues will need to be cooked for an hour, then checked. If they don't feel dry to the touch and won't peel away from the baking paper easily, put them back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and leave the oven door open. Let the meringues cool completely in the oven before you take them out. 

How do I stiffen meringue?

Follow the recipe below! Essentially the egg whites need to be whisked into stiff peaks BEFORE the sugar is added. If you add the sugar too soon the meringue won't be as stiff because the egg whites won't have had a chance to form bubbles and stabilise. It's science!

My meringues cracked and crumbled, what can I do?

To prevent cracking cool the meringues in the oven. If they still don't look like perfect little meringue kisses they will still taste amazing, use crumbled meringues to make an Eton Mess and cover up the cracks with cream. 

How do I know when my mini meringues are cooked?

You will know the meringues are cooked when they feel completely dry on the outside and they can be easily lifted from the baking paper.

How long can I keep mini meringues?

Mini meringues can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days or frozen for a month (although I doubt they'll stay around that long!)

How to make Mini Meringues with a hidden chocolate surprise

I made a short video of the steps for this recipe. You can see it in the recipe card below – hope it helps.

Time needed: 1 hour (includes baking time)

Makes approx: 35 mini meringues

Making mini meringues couldn’t be easier, just follow these simple steps.

1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC/180ºC Fan/Gas 7.
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and add 300g of caster (superfine - US) sugar.
3. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, measure 150g of egg whites in a mixing bowl and whisk to soft peaks using a mixer or handheld electric whisk. Whisk slowly to begin with then increase the speed to medium until soft peaks form - about 5 minutes.
5. By now your sugar will be hot so you can remove it from the oven and add it to the whisked egg whites a spoonful at a time.
6. Keep whisking until the mixture is thick, glossy and bright white - about 7-9 minutes.
7. You can check the mixture is done and all the sugar has dissolved by rubbing some of the mixture between your fingers. If you can feel any grain, continue to whisk for a couple more minutes until it feels completely smooth.
8. Next, invert a piping bag over a tall glass or jug. Using a brush, paint stripes of gel food colouring down the sides of the piping bag. I used 4 different colours: pink, blue, purple and peach.
9. Turn the piping bag the right way round and spoon the meringue mixture into it.
10. Snip the end off the piping bag so there's a hole the size of a 10p coin (quarter - US)
11. Once all your piping bags are filled - use a little of the mixture to stick sheets of baking paper to oven trays. I used 3 trays in total. Use a little more mixture to stick the mini eggs to the trays. This stops them moving and rolling around when you pipe the meringue on top.
12. Hold the piping bag vertically about 2cm above the mini egg and pipe the meringue on top. The meringue will encase the mini egg as it's squeezed from the piping bag. Once you have your desired size for the mini meringue, let go of the piping bag with your squeezing hand and pull up to form a peak.
13. Bake for 45 minutes and then check the meringues to see if they are baked, depending on your oven and the size of the mini meringues they may need up to 1 hour.
14. When the mini meringues feel dry to the touch and lift up from the baking paper easily they are done.

I hope you enjoy these perfect little mini meringue treats as much as we do!

Other Easter recipes I think you'll love

• Cadbury Creme Egg Caramel Shortbread
• Double Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns
• Easter Cake Showstopper
• Quick And Easy Tear And Share Pain Au Chocolat