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Rainbow Meringues

Name: Rainbow Meringues
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 5 h 40 min
Yield: 40
Ingredients: 2 egg whites; 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar; Dash almond or peppermint extract; 1/2 cup sugar; Gel paste food coloring, any desired colors (pink, orange, yellow, green and blue used here)

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Prep 40 min
Total 5 hr 40 min
Servings 40

Easy to make rainbow meringue toppers are a magical addition to any cake!

By The Decorated Cookie

Updated April 5, 2018

Ingredients

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Dash almond or peppermint extract
1/2 cup sugar
Gel paste food coloring, any desired colors (pink, orange, yellow, green and blue used here)

Steps

1

Preheat oven to 200°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Prepare a disposable decorating bag fitted with a round size 12 tip (both can be found at craft stores). On a piece of wax paper, place a couple drops of each color of gel paste food coloring. Have some paint brushes ready. Set all this aside.
2

Place egg whites in bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip, or in a large bowl if you're using an electric hand mixer. Add cream of tartar and almond or peppermint extract. Whip at high speed until the egg whites turn to fluffy snow. This may take a few minutes. Gradually add sugar while mixing on medium speed. Then whip on high speed for a bit. The mixture looks much the same as the egg white snow, but it will be shinier.
3

Fold top of decorating bag over to form a cuff and place bag in a tumbler. With paint brushes, paint lines of food coloring inside bag from tip to top, just below where cuff starts to fold. The lines will look a little watery and beaded. Gently scoop meringue into bag and twist the top closed.
4

Holding at the twisted part, position bag vertically over baking tray. Pipe a dot and pull up to form a tip. The first few dollops will be the most concentrated in color, and the color will fade as you use the meringue and refill the bag. Fill one to two baking trays with meringues. Place tray(s) in preheated oven. Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the meringues are firm to the touch but not browned yet. Turn off oven, open door slightly and leave meringues in the warm oven for another two hours. Let cool and keep in a sealed container until ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 10

Calories from Fat: 0

Total Fat: 0g; 0%

Saturated Fat: 0g; 0%

Trans Fat: 0g

Cholesterol: 0mg; 0%

Sodium: 0mg; 0%

Potassium: 0mg; 0%

Total Carbohydrate: 3g; 1%

Dietary Fiber: 0g; 0%

Sugars: 3g

Protein: 0g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 0%; 0%

Vitamin C: 0%; 0%

Calcium: 0%; 0%

Iron: 0%; 0%

Exchanges:

Free

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

This beautiful birthday cake by Fork to Belly inspired me to make this pink velvet cake with rainbow meringues. I’ve been somewhat obsessed with meringues lately, so this idea to use them as cake toppers tapped right into that preoccupation. Plus, rainbow. Plus, pink velvet cake. So the whole combination is like riding a unicorn. “Pink velvet cake” is a bit of a diversion from traditional red velvet cake. Red velvet cake dates to the 18th century when bakers added cornstarch and cocoa powder to cakes to make a finer textured cake. Red velvet cake contains vinegar and buttermilk to bring out the “red” in the cocoa powder. (The reason red food coloring is added, by the way, is thanks to Texan John A. Adams, owner of the Adams Extract Company, who wanted to sell more food coloring. During the Great Depression era, his company offered recipes with their products, including a red cake.) Some believe the increased popularity of red velvet cake in the States in the last couple decades is thanks to the groom’s armadillo cake in Steel Magnolias. Admittedly, I remember that cake well, and it’s the first I ever heard of red velvet, so I’m a believer. While cousin to red velvet, “Pink velvet cake” is more akin to “white velvet cake,” which is light and buttery. And of course, it doesn’t contain the signature cocoa powder. So here, I’m turning cake mix into a combination of all the velvets to create a smooth, rich cake. Really, it’s pretty much cake dyed pink. Before we make the cake, let’s take care of the rainbow meringue toppers, which can be made the day before. As beautiful as they are, they are surprisingly easy to make. Here, I halve the recipe I used for the melting snowman meringue cookies, since we don’t need that many meringues. And there will still be plenty of extra for you to enjoy. To make the cake, preheat the oven and follow the instructions on the box of Betty Crocker cake mix, but substitute buttermilk for the water. Choosing the White Cake mix would be closer to true white velvet and would make a prettier pink, but I prefer yellow cake, so I’m using the Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Yellow Cake Mix. Mix the cake mix, cup of buttermilk, half cup of vegetable oil and three eggs according to the directions. Stir in a few drops of pink gel paste food coloring, adding more drops as needed until you reach the desired shade. Pour into your greased and floured baking pans and bake according to the package directions. Here, I used three six-inch pans because I wanted a tall cake. But the standard pair of nine-inch pans would work beautifully. Let the cakes cool. Frost the cakes with vanilla Betty Crocker frosting. Top with your rainbow meringues. Go share with unicorns. If you're not into pink cake, feel free to add your pretty rainbow meringues to any cake or dessert you want!