Image is for illustrative purposes only.
These are slim, crisp meringue sticks flavoured with cocoa and desiccated coconut. The meringue is warmed with the sugar before whipping, which gives it a dense, stable body that holds a clean piped line, and the coconut and cocoa are folded through at the end so the sticks bake dry rather than chewy.
Dried slowly in a very low oven, they snap cleanly and taste of toasted coconut and dark cocoa. They are made for decorating: stand them upright around a cake, lay them across a mousse, break them into shards over cream, or serve them alongside coffee. Because they are dry all the way through, they keep for weeks in a sealed container and can be made well ahead.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
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Weight Per Unit: 12
Number of Units: 60
Unit Size: 10 cm long piped stick
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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200 |
6.7 Egg Whites
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Egg White
Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks. The primary natural purpose of egg white is to protect the yolk and provide additional nutrition for the growth of the embryo (when fertilized). Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which is dissolved 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins). Unlike the yolk, which is high in lipids (fats), egg white contains almost no fat, and carbohydrate content is less than 1%. Egg whites contain just over 50% of the protein in the egg. Egg white has many uses in food (e.g. mousse) and also many other uses (e.g. in the preparation of vaccines such as those for influenza).
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room temperature |
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B
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400 |
14.1 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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C
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60 |
2.1 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
for folding through
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D
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40 |
1.4 ounces
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Desiccated Coconut
Desiccated coconut is coconut flesh that has been dried and finely shredded. It is much drier than fresh or moist shredded coconut, so it absorbs moisture from a batter or meringue and gives a fine, slightly sandy texture.
fine
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E
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40 |
1.4 ounces
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Cocoa Powder
Cocoa Powder (cocoa solids) is a mixture of many substances remaining after cocoa butter is extracted from cacao beans. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa, and cacao. In contrast, the fatty component of chocolate is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is 50% to 57% of the weight of cocoa beans and gives chocolate its characteristic melting properties.
Cocoa solids are one of the richest sources of flavanol antioxidants. They are a key ingredient of chocolate, chocolate syrup, and chocolate confections.
unsweetened
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sifted |
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740
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
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STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Line two flat baking trays with baking paper. Fit a piping bag with an 8 mm plain round nozzle. |
Bowl and whisk completely free of grease |
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2 |
Pre-heat |
Set the oven to 100°C (210°F), fan off if possible. |
Oven fully at temperature before the sticks go in |
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3 |
Warm |
Put A and B (egg white and caster sugar) in a clean heatproof bowl and warm them over a pot of simmering water, or in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring often. |
Sugar fully dissolved and the mixture warm to the touch, with no grittiness between the fingers |
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4 |
Whip |
Transfer to the mixer and whip on high speed until cooled and very stiff. |
Thick, glossy and holding a firm peak that does not droop |
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5 |
Combine |
In a separate bowl, mix C, D and E (caster sugar, desiccated coconut and cocoa powder) together. |
Evenly blended, no lumps of cocoa |
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6 |
Fold |
Fold the coconut and cocoa mixture through the meringue in two or three additions, using a spatula and cutting through gently. |
Evenly coloured, still firm enough to pipe |
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7 |
Pipe |
Fill the piping bag and pipe straight sticks about 10 cm long onto the lined trays, leaving a finger's width between them. |
Sticks even in thickness so they dry at the same rate |
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8 |
Bake |
Dry the sticks in the oven at 100°C (210°F) overnight. |
Completely dry and crisp all the way through, lifting cleanly off the paper |
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9 |
Cool |
Leave the sticks on the trays until completely cold, then store them straight away in an airtight container. |
Snap cleanly when broken |
Important Notes
This batch makes about 740 g of meringue, which is roughly 60 sticks of 10 cm from an 8 mm plain nozzle, or fewer longer ones if you want tall sticks for standing around a cake. Pipe whatever length suits the cake you are decorating and keep the thickness the same across the tray so everything dries evenly. The low oven is a drying oven, not a baking oven: the sticks should stay dark cocoa brown and never colour or crack. If your oven does not go as low as 100°C, set it to its lowest setting and prop the door open slightly with a wooden spoon. Once cold, store them in an airtight container in a dry place, away from any cake or cream, or they will soften within hours. They keep for several weeks this way.
Tools & Arrangements
Stand mixer with whisk attachment, heatproof mixing bowl, saucepan for a water bath (or microwave), spatula, piping bag with 8 mm plain round nozzle, two flat baking trays, baking paper, airtight storage container.
