If you’re looking for an easy treat for your next Halloween party then this recipe for Ghost Meringues is perfect for you! In this post, you will learn how to make the perfect mini meringues for your spooky celebration.
This meringue recipe is super simple to follow and you’ll only need 3 ingredients for the meringues as well as black gel food coloring for decorating the eyes and mouth. These meringues are perfect to use as decorations on cupcakes or cakes.
If you love Halloween recipes then have a look at this recipe for Black Velvet Cupcakes or this recipe for Pumpkin Halloween Cupcakes.
Ingredients
To make this easy meringue recipe you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Remember to always use fresh room temperature ingredients when baking.
- Egg whites
- Caster sugar
- White vinegar
- Black food colouring
Egg whites – use room temperature egg whites for this recipe to get the most volume when whipping the whites. The weight of the egg whites is given in grams for accuracy.
Castor sugar – for glossy meringues with a great texture, use superfine sugar rather than granulated sugar.
White vinegar – vinegar is added while whipping the whites to help stabilize the meringue mixture. Use white grape vinegar for this recipe, you can also use lemon juice instead.
Black food coloring – this is used to paint the eyes and mouths of the ghosts. Food coloring is much easier to use for decorating when compared to melted chocolate.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the simple steps below to make these little meringue ghosts.
STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven temperature to 100°C (210°F) fan-forced, and line one large baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: Beat egg whites. Add the egg whites into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at a low speed until lots of bubbles have formed.
STEP 3: Continue beating egg whites. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium speed and whisk until the egg whites are white and frothy and soft peaks have formed. Add the vinegar while the mixer is running.
STEP 4: Add sugar. With the mixer running at high speed add the castor sugar one tablespoon at a time. Waiting about 45 sec between each addition.
STEP 5: Beat until glossy. Once all of the sugar has been added, continue whipping the meringue for a further 7 to 10 minutes at high speed. At this stage, your meringue should have more than doubled in size and stiff peaks should have formed.
STEP 6: Pipe meringue mixture. Place the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with round 1cm (0.3 inches) piping nozzle. Pipe ghost shapes onto your prepared trays, do this by piping the mixture onto the tray at a 90-degree angle, lifting the piping bag upwards as you go.
STEP 7: Bake. Bake the meringues in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottom of the mini meringues lifts easily off of the parchment paper.
STEP 8: Allow meringues to dry out. Switch off the oven and allow the meringues to dry out in the oven, for about 2 hours or overnight.
STEP 9: Decorate. Squeeze a small amount of black gel food coloring into a small bowl and use a fine paint brush to paint eyes and a mouth onto each meringue. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: to get the perfect meringue tip, release the pressure on the piping bag and lift the bag upwards, this will create the perfect ‘tail’ or drip to the top of the meringue.
Variations
You can choose to create multicoloured meringues by adding gel food colouring to the meringue mixture before piping the ghosts.
When it comes to decorating these meringue ghost cookies instead of using food colouring you can also use candy eyes, miniature chocolate chips, or melted chocolate if you'd prefer.
Equipment
To make these adorable meringue ghosts, you will need an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, a large piping bag or pastry bag, a round piping tip, and a small paintbrush suited for fine detail.
Storage
Store any leftover meringues in an airtight container at room temperature out of direct sunlight for up to 2 weeks.
I do not recommend freezing meringues.
Top tips
- Meringues are very heat-sensitive, so make sure you have tested the true temperature of your oven with a thermometer before baking this is very important when wanting to achieve a perfectly white meringue.
- Set your oven to fan-forced for the best results.
- Make sure your meringue mixture has whipped well enough before piping, the ghosts must hold their shape well after they have been piped.
- Be sure to separate the egg whites from the egg yolk properly, any yolk in the whites will affect the meringue.
FAQ
Why don’t my meringues have that drip on the top?
You probably didn’t beat the meringues for long enough. Only stop beating the meringues when stiff peaks have formed.
If your meringues look golden brown rather than white, they have been baked in an oven that was too hot. Meringues are very temperature sensitive and need to be baked at a low temperature, thus the oven temperature setting needs to be accurate.
These mini ghost meringue cookies are the ultimate Halloween bake and are so much fun to add to any dessert table.
If you have tried this recipe for spooky meringue ghosts and love it as much as I do, then please leave a comment and star review below – I love hearing from all of you!
Don’t forget to send snaps of your sweet treat to me on Instagram @with_love_kitty and sign up for the weekly newsletter to make sure you never miss a recipe!
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Ghost Meringues
Equipment
- 1x disposable piping bag
- 1x round piping nozzle
Ingredients
- 80 g egg whites
- 160 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- black gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven temperature to 100°C (210°F) fan-forced, and line one large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the egg whites into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at a low speed until lots of bubbles have formed.
- Increase the speed of the mixer to medium speed and whisk until the egg whites are white and frothy and soft peaks have formed. Add the vinegar while the mixer is running.
- With the mixer running at high speed add the castor sugar one tablespoon at a time. Waiting about 45 sec between each addition.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, continue whipping the meringue for a further 7 to 10 minutes at high speed. At this stage, your meringue should have more than doubled in size and stiff peaks should have formed.
- Place the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with round 1cm (0.3 inches) piping nozzle. Pipe ghost shapes onto your prepared trays, do this by piping the mixture onto the tray at a 90-degree angle, lifting the piping bag upwards as you go.
- Bake the meringues in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottom of the mini meringues lifts easily off of the parchment paper.
- Switch off the oven and allow the meringues to dry out in the oven, for about 2 hours or overnight.
- Squeeze a small amount of black gel food colouring into a small bowl and use a fine paint brush to paint eyes and a mouth onto each meringue. Serve and enjoy!
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