Meringues, when done right, are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They are perfect paired with cream and fresh fruit or alternatively they are great to decorate the top of a cake with. Possibly the nicest thing about meringues it the sheer simplicity of them - only two, easy to find and cheap, ingredients (and your food colourings) and minimal equipment.

You'll need a good set of gel colourings to ensure a bright colour with no after taste. Mine are from Wilton and although they are a little pricier than liquid colourings, you only need a minimal amount to make a huge difference so it's well worth the extra up front cost.

Ingredients:

100g egg whites (approx 3 eggs)
200g caster sugar
Gel food colourings (as many as you want!)

Equipment:

Stand mixer, or electric hand mixer
Baking sheet
Piping bag
Scissors, to cut the piping bag
Spatula
Greaseproof paper
Paint brush/glove to apply food colouring

Step 1: Separate Eggs & Warm Sugar

Turn oven on to 200c/190c Fan
Separate three eggs and place 100g of whites in a very clean bowl (I used my KitchenAid bowl). Make sure there is no fat or grease in the bowl or on the whisk, you can use a paper towel with a little lemon juice on to ensure it is clean if needs be.
Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and pour the 200g of sugar onto it. Pop the tray in the oven for five minutes to warm the sugar. Keep a close eye on it!
Meanwhile whisk the eggs for a minute on a low speed until frothy, then increase the speed to high and whisk until the sugar is done. You should have stiff peaks at this point.

Step 2: Make Meringue

Add the sugar, tablespoon at a time to the egg white mix, whisking all the time.
Whisk for approx 5 minutes until a thick glossy mix is formed. It should hold it's peak when a spatula is run through it.
Reduce heat of the oven to 95c/85c fan

Step 3: Prepare Piping Bag

Select the colours you wish your meringue kisses to be.
Turn a piping bag inside out and place it on a bottle.
Using your finger in a glove, or a brush, draw a line of food colouring down the side of the back. Repeat this step for each colour, working your way round the bag.
Carefully turn the piping bag the right way round and use a large spatula to fill the piping bag, being careful not to hit the side of the bag.

Step 4: Pipe and Cook the Kisses

Pipe a little meringue on each corner of a baking tray and use it to place down a sheet of greaseproof paper.
Pipe small amounts of meringue and pull away quickly to form a kiss.
Repeat until the baking sheet is full, or the mixture has run out.
Cook on the low heat for approximately 35-40 minutes until you can open the oven and lift a meringue kiss straight off the greaseproof paper without it sticking.
Cool on a cooling rack.
Enjoy!