If you are curious whether it is possible to make meringue using the liquid from a can of chickpeas, I can assure you it is. But it is so much fun to test it (and taste it!) yourself! Are you in?
Aquafaba Meringue – Can You Make Meringues from Chickpea Liquid?
When a while back I found out about vegan meringue recipes using aquafaba, I was intrigued. How was it even possible to replace egg whites with the liquid left after draining chickpeas?! Would it work? Would the result be similar to the regular meringue? I had so many questions! And since I am a big fan of meringues, I had no choice other than to test it out myself.
In the beginning, making vegan meringue from aquafaba was a bit like magic. After all, I used liquid; I usually threw away. That liquid after a few minutes of whipping turned into an airy foam just like the one made of egg whites.
But from then on the whole process of preparation and baking of the vegan meringue was almost the same as of the non-vegan one:
I was adding sugar gradually while whipping for a long time (a bit longer than the usual one).
And then the meringue was drying slowly in a warm oven.
The result was almost identical, too! The vegan meringue grew a bit while baking. It had a lovely, slightly gooey centre and a crunchy outside that was a bit more delicate than on the regular meringue.
Delicious Vegan Meringue Recipe
I am sure you are curious about the vegan meringue flavour. My husband couldn’t taste the chickpeas at all and I hardly could. But even if your sense of taste is very sharp, you can cheat it by using fragrant accompaniments.
I prepared a vegan filling made of whipped coconut cream mixed with pistachio paste. Additionally, I topped my meringues with raspberries to include a bit of a tangy taste and a red colour.
Why red? – Because in my opinion, these meringues are a perfect ending to Valentine’s dinner. They are very light, delicious and look impressive. Everyone can enjoy them including people on vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free diets. And they are (or the process of their preparation) magical. Just like love sometimes is 😉
Vegan Meringue Recipe [Aquafaba Meringue]
Agnieszka Weiner Delicious like regular ones but suitable also for vegans - meringues made from aquafaba with coconut pistachio cream.
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
- 125 ml aquafaba (approx. the liquid from one can of chickpeas
- 150 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 can coconut milk high-quality, refrigerated for at least 12 hours
- 5 tbsp pistachio paste*
- icing sugar optionally
On a parchment paper draw four 10-12cm - diameter circles, and place on a baking tray.
Preheat a fan oven to 130C.
Pour the aquafaba to a big and clean bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form (similar to egg whites).
Start adding sugar (while you are whisking): add one teaspoon at a time and carry on beating for 20-30 seconds before you add another teaspoon of sugar.
When you have used all the sugar, keep on whisking for another 2-3 minutes till glossy and thick, then add the lemon juice and beat for another minute. **
Divide the beaten aquafaba into 4 portions and carefully spread them on the drawn circles, put the baking tray to the preheated oven for 1 hour.
Turn off the oven but keep the meringues inside the oven for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Open the refrigerated can of coconut milk and transfer the thick part only to a clean bowl (the water left in the tin can be used in a smoothie).***
Beat the coconut cream with the electric mixer until pretty thick (it should almost reach the consistency of whipped cream).
Whisk in the pistachio paste and keep in the fridge till needed.****
Gently remove the meringues from the parchment paper, place on plates and top up with the pistachio coconut cream; decorate with raspberries.*****
*There are different types of pistachio paste so you may have to use less or more of it to achieve the required taste. Additionally, if the pistachio paste is not very sweet, you may have to add at the end some icing sugar to the pistachio coconut mixture.
**The whole process of whisking will take you approx. 10-15 minutes. Don’t cut it short or else the meringues will fail.
***It is crucial to use high-quality coconut milk (the better quality, the more cream you will end up with) as well as to refrigerate it for a long time (at least 12 hours). As a consequence, the cream will almost get solid, and it will be easy to separate it from the water. The less water you have in your bowl, the easier it will be to whip the cream.
****The density of the whipped coconut cream depends on the quality of the coconut milk and on how well it was separated from the water. If after whisking the coconut cream is not very thick, adding the pistachio paste and refrigerating the cream till needed should help.
*****If you are not going to use all the meringues straight away, it is better to keep them and the coconut cream separately and assemble just before serving. I kept mine like that for 2 days, and everything tasted as well as on the first day. Keyword aquafaba meringue, vegan meringue, vegan meringue recipe
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☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Great tips - Thank you!
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ You're very welcome :)