Day 148: Coconut meringue macaroon

I’m now at the stage where if I see the word ‘meringue’ in a recipe title or I see ‘meringue mix’ in the method that alarms bells start ringing in my head. My inability to make meringues is now well established and, whether or not it was going to be a disaster, the Coconut meringue macaroon wasn’t going to make itself so here’s how it went…

One thing I will say about meringue mixes is that I am very good at separating egg whites and yolks so I can’t fault myself for that; it’s what happens after that is where I usually start to go wrong. Anyway, the recipe said to whisk three egg whites until they were frothy but not at the stage where they were forming soft peaks. Em, does that mean just whisk for a few seconds or more?  What about whisking for a minute? I still wasn’t sure. I came to the conclusion that it meant that the egg whites had to be whisked until they were very frothy and not far off the white colour they then turn for a meringue mix. Effectively, that meant that I whisked the whites for a few minutes (with an electric whisk, of course!). Next, I had to fold in desiccated coconut and caster sugar with a metal spoon. Out came my ruler and pencil then where I drew a 22cm circle on the back of a sheet of parchment paper and then set it on a tray. I then tumbled the macaroon mix onto it and then shaped it into a circle. I used the back of my spoon to make the centre of the macaroon slightly more hollow as this is where the whipped cream and mango were going to go. Into the oven the macaroon then went for 18 minutes. Once baked, I let it sit for a few minutes before transferring it onto a wire rack. I probably let it cool another 20 minutes before putting whipped cream and mango on it. I just used a few slices of mango from a tin as therein lies another food that I can never seem to cut right. Finally, I sprinkled some fresh mint on top and served up.

The verdict…

A ‘no’ from Baby Daughter; a ‘semi-yes’ from Dear Son; and a ‘yes’ from Dear Husband. His verdict was 6 marks out of 10. He said it was nice and different but not something that he would order from a menu if he was out for dinner. He even dared to suggest that it would have been even better with some chocolate on top!!! Yes, he did. Em, actually, he’s probably right. I gave the macaroon a 6 also.

Overall, it was a fairly simple recipe to make. The most complicated part was the meringue mix. I’m still not sure if I even got that right but I made it. Will I make it again? Probably only if I have desiccated coconut that’s going out of date. Therefore, I wouldn’t exactly be in a hurry to make this particular recipe again. It’s not exactly going to be a feature item on The List but I think I could have another list entitled “Recipes for when things are going out-of-date”. Oh no, there I go again. I’ve just started another list. I just can’t help myself…