Lemon Thyme and Ginger

Aquafaba Meringue

A year ago I read an article on Food52 about an amazing food discovery – aquafaba. Aquafaba is bean water that comes from canned beans or home cooked beans. This is an ingredient that is unseemly and easy to ignore. I sometimes use it in hummus, but I mostly just pour it down the drain. Fortunately, some very clever and persistent people discovered that aquafaba has similar properties to egg whites and could be whipped into stiff peaks and make aquafaba meringue. This amazing discovery for an egg substitute has changed vegan baking, and general baking, forever.

Aquafaba from a can of chickpeas

At first, I struggled visualizing a white and fluffy aquafaba meringue, just the smell alone of chickpea brine, (especially canned) will deter anyone from considering there is merit in that broth. Vegan baking is a challenging concept for me.

I often wonder, how do you bake without eggs? It is the glue that holds everything together and gives structure and texture to baked desserts.  Could aquafaba really replace egg whites? I trust Food52 and their research, and I saw aquafaba was a trending discussion all over the web. My curiosity was sparked, and a year later, after relishing making and eating egg white meringue desserts-lemon meringue pie, dacquoise, pavlova, coconut chocolate meringue cookies, I finally put my mind to it and convinced myself it was time to make aquafaba meringues.

Soft peaks of aquafaba meringue

Stiff and glossy peaks of aquafaba meringue

To learn more about aquafaba check out these Facebook pages, Aquafaba Everything and Vegan Meringue Hit and Misses

Also The official aquafaba website.

Aquafaba meringue

Aquafaba meringue nests

I am an omnivore, and love to learn about different diets and food preparations. I believe good health and well-being are centrally related to healthy eating practices, and I want to learn as much as I can about healthy food choices and nutrition. A vegan diet would be very difficult for me to do, mostly because I love cheese and I am not a fan of tofu. Over the years my research and experience has reinforced my belief of cutting back on animal protein consumption and to eat more plants.

Ready for the oven, aquafaba meringue nests and aquafaba coffee meringue clouds

Interested in other desserts made using aquafaba? Click here.

I have made a variety of egg white meringue  desserts so I believed aquafaba meringue would be simple without too many complications. Wrong. Lesson one: Do not take anything for granted and read directions carefully. Similar to egg whites, making aquafaba meringue can be very temperamental. It took me three tries before I had my first success.  The first attempt I added the sugar into the whipped bean water all at once and it deflated. I was furious with myself for that mistake because I know it is important to slowly add sugar to whipped eggs whites.  I should have applied the same logic and experience to making aquafaba meringue.

Aquafaba meringue nests

The second attempt I used a mixture of chickpea cooking liquid from chickpeas that I cooked and the liquid from canned chickpeas. My home cooked aquafaba was very thick plus, I did not have enough. After I turned on my mixer and started whipping the aquafaba, nothing happened. The liquid stayed flat and barely developed a foam. I am not sure why, but my hunch is that the aquafaba from the home-cooked chickpeas did not have enough of the protein in the liquid. My chickpeas came from a brand of dried chickpeas with the skin peeled off. So take note, not all chickpea liquids are the same.

Lesson two: Keep it simple stupid. Do not try to build the Colosseum when you are just learning how to use a hammer. I am often so guilty of starting a project that I really do not know anything about. Then scrambling my way through trial and error until I get it right. Something that should have taken one day turns into three.

As I was putting the baking sheets filled with individual aquafaba meringue nests,  (hoping to make pavlova), I realized that I did not have an accurate baking time. My reference recipe was for small meringue cookies. I had enough experience to believe that the suggested cooking time was not going to be long enough. Fortunately, I decided to go with a two-hour cooking time and to cool the meringues in the oven for several hours.  This extended time produced light and crisp meringues so it all worked out. Next time I will do more research especially before I start something I now very little about.

Aquafaba pavlova with whipped cream and mixed fruit

To continue with the keeping it simple lesson, I planned on posting a recipe for vegan pavlova with mixed berries and coconut whipped cream: two of the foods in the recipe I had never made before. I thought I was going to have a lot of challenges with making aquafaba meringue, but they were nothing compared to the continuing malfunctions I am having with making whipped cream from coconut milk. So far making coconut milk whipped cream has been the most ridiculous and frustrating cooking experience that I have ever had.

To this day I have yet to succeed making coconut milk whipped cream. I made 4 attempts and all failed. Apparently coconut milk brands are not equal. There are additives in some brands, even the organic ones, that prevent the coconut milk from whipping up. I have used Coco Real Cream of Coconut, Nature Valley Organic Coconut Milk and Goya, all failed.  Goya brand coconut milk does not have stabilizers in it, and the milk and cream did not separate. The coconut cream is the only part of the coconut milk used in making whipped coconut cream. There are discussions on food blogs about which coconut milk brands work. People swear by the full fat versions of Thai Kitchen, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Unfortunately, I did not have any of those options available to me.

Update: 5th try using chilled Thai Kitchen coconut milk, FYI chilled on the top shelf of my refrigerator for 18 hours. After 18 hours of being refrigerated, the coconut milk and cream did not separate and the cream did not whip. It is possible that the coconut milk needed to be chilled for 24 hours , or it just could be that sometimes you get a bum can of coconut milk that won’t separate.  Lesson 3 – buy more than one brand and can of coconut milk.

Aquafaba coffee meringue cloud cookies

I keep telling myself that we learn from our mistakes, but it is sure maddening when we are going through the process. Hopefully my mistakes will be useful and not deter you from conquering the challenges and enjoying the rewards of vegan baking. Kudos to the vegan home cooks and chefs that have persevered and shared their knowledge, mistakes and successes, with the public. Understanding cooking and food science is hard work, but ultimately well worth it.

Aquafaba coffee meringues cookies

More importantly, I discovered that aquafaba is an amazing egg substitute for anybody. I 100% recommend using the chickpea aquafaba to make meringue or other marshmallow type of foods. I made a pavlova for my husband using aquafaba meringue nests, regular whipped cream, and mixed fruit. While Joe was eating the dessert he kept repeating, “This is so good.” Pavlova, made from egg whites or aquafaba, is a crispy, creamy, fruity treasure all in one bite. Go for it.

What to do with your leftover chickpeas?

Rinsed and drained chickpeas

It is hard to go wrong with hummus. Try this recipe from Rose Water and Orange Blossom blog.

If you need a gluten-free, nut free, salty, crunchy fix try roasted chickpeas from Melissa Clark at NY Times Cooks.  They are totally easy and delicious.

Add a handful of chickpeas to a tossed green salad with lettuce, avocados, tomatoes, cucumber, and fresh herbs with a vinaigrette. This is a delicious salad with some extra protein. Or toss in the roasted chickpeas, from the above recipe, instead of croutons for a gluten-free healthy crunch in your green salad.

Try this recipe I made from Mark Bittman at NY Times Cooking. Fennel Chickpea Ratatouille. I love how the fennel brightens the flavor of ratatouille. It is quite delicious.

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Aquafaba Meringue

Aquafaba meringue is delightfully crispy and dissolve in your mouth. From my testing, there is little difference between meringues made with egg whites and aquafaba, chickpea water. Like traditional meringue, you can flavor aquafaba meringue with a variety of different tastes. I divided my aquafaba  meringues in half and flavored one half with vanilla and the other half with coffee. 

For the coffee flavor, mix 1/2 tablespoon of dehydrated coffee with about 1-2 teaspoons water, or add brewed coffee to taste. Gently fold in the coffee liquid into the whipped chickpea liquid.  This recipe yields a lot of meringue, enough to make a variety of shapes and presentations. 

Use aquafaba meringue nests to hold fruit and whipped cream or coconut whipped cream. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Vegan

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 4 hours

Servings 12 meringue nests

Author Ginger

Ingredients

• Liquid from a 15 oz can of Chickpeas. There should be about 1/2 cup or more. I used Organic Eden Chickpeas with no salt
• 1/2 cup Super fine castor Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract or other flavoring

Instructions

Equipment

1. 2 12" x 16" rimmed baking sheets
2. 2 pieces of parchment paper to fit baking sheets
3. Stand mixer with whisk attachment and large bowl

Advanced preparation

1. If you want to make meringue nests, draw 6 circles on both pieces of parchment paper. A good size is between 3 1/2" to 4" in diameter. I used an 18 oz plastic cup as a guide to draw the circles. Free form nest do not necessarily need a circle template, but piped meringue nests do.
2. Turn the prepared parchment paper over, so the drawings are on the underside, and place each sheet onto a 12" x 16" baking sheet
3. Move the oven racks to the top third and bottom third positions in the oven.
4. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit

Make the Aquafaba meringues

1. Drain the liquid from a can of chickpeas, or home cooked chickpeas, into a small bowl. You will need at least a 1/2 cup of aquafaba. The amount of aquafaba will depend on your brand of chickpeas, and if you are using aquafaba from home cooked chickpeas. My can of chickpeas produced 2/3 cup of aquafaba and I used all of it. Reserve the chickpeas for another use.
2. Pour the aquafaba into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or a large mixing bowl for a hand held mixer. (If you are using the aquafaba from home cooked chickpeas make sure the liquid is cooled to room temperature.)
3. Turn the mixer up to medium high speed, and whip the aquafaba until frothy.
4. Add the Cream of Tartar to the aquafaba and turn the speed up to high. Whip the aquafaba until the meringue can hold soft peaks .
5. Add the vanilla or flavor of your choice to the meringue and continue whipping the aquafaba.
6. While the mixer is on, slowly add the superfine sugar, one tablespoon at a time, mixing between each addition on very high speed. Continue to mix the meringue until stiff peaks are formed and the meringue is very glossy. It took me about 15 minutes with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to get stiff glossy peaks in my meringue.
7. To make the individual nests, spoon or pipe the meringue onto your prepared baking sheets. For the free form nests place a large spoonful of meringue to fit in each circle, then use the back of your spoon to hollow out an impression in the center and make a nest shape. To pipe the meringue, fill a pastry bag, fitted with a large star tip, with meringue. Begin in the center of each circle template and pipe the meringue in a circular motion to fill in the base. Then pipe meringue along the rim of your meringue base to create a side, Pipe a second rim layer on top of the first rim to build up the side and create a nest.
8. Place the meringue filled baking sheets in a pre-heated oven and bake the meringues for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
9. Half way through the baking time, rotate the baking sheets front to back and switch places so the top sheet is on the bottom rack and visa versa.
10. Once the meringues are done, turn off the heat and allow the meringues to completely cool in the oven. (This could take several hours).
11. The meringues will keep for about 3 days, stored in an airtight container in a dry place.
12. Meringues do not like humidity, so if you live in a humid area, turning your air conditioner on is ideal.

Recipe Notes

I discovered when comparing recipes of aquafaba meringue, that there was a great discrepancy in cooking temperature and cooking time. The temperature varied from 175 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooking time was anywhere from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours. It is difficult to tell if meringue is done just by looking at it. You have to go with trust and experience. If you are making individual cookies after an hour and a half of baking you can test (sacrifice) a meringue cookie by taking it out of the oven and letting it cool on the counter for 15 minutes or more. Meringues need to be completely cool to get crisp. Taste the cookie and if the meringue is still chewy it is not done. Continue baking the meringues for another 30 minutes or more. If they are completely crisp, they are done and you can turn off the heat and allow the meringues to cool in the oven. If you are making the aquafaba meringue for a pavlova, the 2 hr cooking time will be needed. Cooling the meringues in the oven is an essential step and if you have time, cool the meringues in the oven over night.

© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.