Ghost Meringues

1. Preheat your oven to 120°C (regular)/110°C (fan), gas mark 4.
2. Prepare 2 baking trays, either with baking parchment or lightly oil.  Be aware that meringues will stick to greaseproof paper or tinfoil.
3. Place you two egg whites into a non-plastic bowl and whisk until light and fluffy.
4. While still mixing add your granulated sugar, a little at a time until it has all been incorporated, leaving a few seconds between each addition to ensure the sugar is well mixed and you can see stiff peaks when you remove the whisk.
5. Sieve the icing sugar into your meringue mixture and then whisk just until it is combined and the mixture looks shiney.
6. Place the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.  If you don’t have piping bags, take a heavy duty freezer bag such as a Ziploc, and place your mixture into that, then reseal and snip the bottom of one corner to make a hole about 1.5cm in diameter.
7. Holding your piping bag totally vertically, squeeze a ball shaped meringue onto your prepared piping sheet, then lessen the pressure on the bag and pull straight up so that you get a clean point on the top of the meringue shape.
8. Place your baking trays into the oven and allow to cook slowly for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Keep an eye to make sure they aren’t going too brown. If they are, turn the oven down to a lower heat.  You will know they are done when they lift easily off the baking parchment.
9. Allow to cool and then using black food colouring and a paint brush, add any eyes, mouths or any other effect you like.  You can also use Dr Oetker edible (food colouring) pens, which are available to buy in most Supervalu stores.
10. Add any optional fondant decorations, such as bows or flowers for the girl ghost or bow ties for the boys and enjoy.

Tip: Meringue is one of the most forgiving, easy mixes to pipe.  If you’re not happy with the shape you’ve piped, just scrape the meringue back into the bag and try again.