Having a few very lovely friends who are vegan, it has been a bit of a baking exploration for me, to find recipes to make. The idea of a vegan meringue made my head explode...but it is possible...
I tried a few recipes and had a few failures, the key seems to be that you need to include cream of tartar in the recipe and to add the sugar really slowly.
6 tablespoons Aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the chickpea liquid (aquafaba) and cream of tartar into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Start at slow speed and whip until foamy.
Then gradually increase the speed until white and glossy and stiff peaks start to form.
Add the sugar in slowly while whipping at fast speed.
Add in the vanilla.
Keep whipping until glossy stiff peaks form.
Preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C).
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Pipe the meringue mix into shapes onto the parchment lined tray.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, switch off the oven but DON’T OPEN IT (this part is very important).
Leave the oven off, but don’t open it for one hour.
After the meringues have baked for 45 minutes and then sat in the oven for a further hour without opening the oven, remove them from the oven.
