Beehive Honey Meringue

Almost too cute to eat, these honey beehive meringues give the perfect balance of sweet honey and zesty citrus. Check out our zesty citrus shortbread recipe next week to create the base of these delights.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 6 Beehives

Special Equipment: thermometer, blowtorch, large round piping tip, piping bag and stand mixer.

Ingredients:

390g runny honey

90g water

8 egg whites

Directions:

1. Pour the runny honey and the water into a heavy bottomed saucepan with your thermometer attached, or nearby. You’ll need it to make sure you cook the honey to the right temperature.

2. Bring the honey to a boil over high heat.

3. While the sugar is coming to a boil, place the egg whites in a clean grease-free bowl of a mixer fitted with a whip attachment.

4. When the temperature of the sugar reaches 104 C, turn your mixer on medium speed to begin whipping the egg whites.

5. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks, at this point the sugar should be reaching 116 C. When it reaches 116 C, turn the mixer up to high speed and remove the sugar from the heat, Pour the sugar into the egg whites in a steady stream between the whisk and the bowl.

6. Beat for one more minute on high speed, then reduce to medium speed until the meringue is cool to touch.

7. When your meringue has cooled down, transfer it to a piping bag with a large round tip. Pipe the mering in large swirls onto your zesty citrus shortbread (recipe here).

8. Now you can use a blowtorch to toast the meringue around the beehive or you can put your meringue beehives under a medium grill until toasted. Make sure you watch them closely if using your grill!

Tips:

1. Make sure you don’t overcook your sugar, it will get too hard, and it will crystallize in your meringue.

2. If you don’t have time to bake a biscuit base, any store-bought biscuit will work to create the same look!