Soplillos Granadinos (moorish Almond Meringues)

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 36
• 3 egg whites
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 200 g caster sugar
• 1 lemon, zest of, finely grated unwaxed
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (see note) or 1/2 teaspoon the scraped-out seeds of 1 vanilla pod
• 50 g toasted sliced almonds, chopped into small pieces
• whipped cream (optional)

Recipe

• 1 put the egg whites in a bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk just until firm peaks form.
• 2 add the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking after each addition.
• 3 fold in the lemon zest, vanilla and almonds carefully so as not to lose volume.
• 4 fill the piping bag with the mixture.
• 5 pipe the meringue into mini (candy size) paper cups, you may set them in mini muffin cups or set straight onto the baking sheets.
• 6 bake in a preheated oven at 120°c (250°f) gas 1/2 for 30 minutes.
• 7 increase the heat to 140°c (275°f) gas 1 for a further 20 minutes.
• 8 remove from the oven, let cool on a wire rack and serve in their paper cases with a bowl of whipped cream.
• 9 variation: this mixture can be made into cookies or almendrados. double the amount of almonds, and grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder or coffee mill. drop heaped teaspoons onto greased baking sheets and cook in a preheated oven at 140°c (275°f) gas 1 for 15 minutes. they will be soft when they come out of the oven, but firm up when cold.
• 10 note: vanilla paste is found in larger supermarkets, often in the gourmet food department. if you can't find it, use the seeds from 1 vanilla pod.