Whip it

Having read so much about VersaWhip on vegan blogs and forums I decided to order some to experiment with.

It had to be shipped over from America, as they do not yet sell it outside of the USA, as is the case with so many American vegan products.

http://willpowder.net/versawhip.html

VersaWhip is not vegan by design, it is used in molecular gastronomy as a more stable replacement for egg whites, you just whip it up (with water) and it can then be added to any recipe.

There are a few vegan cooks out there at the moment who are experimenting with it, mostly trying to produce macarons, meringue, marshmallows etc. And because the VersaWhip comes without instruction or recipes of any kind, it's a case of trial and error, and sometimes complete invention!

I managed to find a basic vegan meringue recipe using the VersaWhip and decided to have a go, before I tackle my vegan daemon…macarons!

The recipe I followed was from a site recommended by a user on a Post Punk Kitchen forum, http://chocochichi.com/

Vegan Meringue Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

2 tsp Versawhip 600

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 – 2 Tbsp flavor extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 100 degrees C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof baking paper.

Pour water and VersaWhip into a large metal or glass mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until frothy, then increase speed to high. Whip until soft peaks form.

Combine xanthan gum and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Gradually beat into Versawhip until stiff peaks form. Add flavor extract and beat briefly to incorporate.

Drop meringue mix by tablespoon onto parchment-lined baking sheet, or pipe it on using a pastry bag with a large tip.

Bake at 100 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until completely dry and firm to the touch.

Let cool, then remove carefully from baking paper. Meringue cookies should be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. If they begin to soften, they can be crisped again by baking at 100 degrees for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Water and VersaWhip

All ingredients whipped and ready to be piped

Standing your piping bag inside a glass or cup makes it a lot easier to fill and leaves you with both hands free!

I used a sandwich bag with one of the corners cut out as a disposable piping bag.

Ready for the oven.

Out of the oven, crisp shells with a chewy centre.

I baked my meringues for around 2 hours as they did not seem to be hardening. When they were out of the oven and had cooled down they were very melt in the mouth with a chewy centre. For me the outside was not really crumbly enough, they melted too fast and were a little dusty, so maybe I had baked them for too long!

After a day or so the insides were even chewier, which I liked, but the outsides had gone soggy. I put them back in the oven for 15 minutes, the outsides crisped up leaving the insides soft, this texture was a lot closer to a non-vegan meringue.

In regards to taste they were flavoured a little too much. I think you probably only need the smallest amount of vanilla or they start to taste like marshmallow rather than meringue, though I guess this depends on your preferences!

I found the VersaWhip really easy to work with. It whips up into stiff peaks so easily and rather quickly, and even though I left them to sit for a good 20 minutes (because of a phone call) they had not collapsed back in on themselves or broken up, which is usually the case with egg whites. I'm already looking forward to tackling macarons!

I think I will keep experimenting with this basic recipe, have a go with different flavours and see how a big dessert size meringue works! Come over if you want a taste :)

Bisous bisous xxx