Last week's chicken and egg eggstravaganza gotme thinking about a question I'm often asked by those who know (and, I hope, understand) my weakness for anything custardy, ice-creamy or, well, saucy or tarty. What do you do with all of those leftover egg whites?
The poor old albumen is often the understudy to the shining, golden star, the yolk. Shamefully, it's often discarded or, in some cases – and perhaps worse – destined to be transformed into that most insipid of dishes, the egg-white omelette. Well, I want to put a stop to that. Custard's last stand, if you will.
If a custard-making frenzy has leftyou with a surfeit of whites, perhaps the best thing to do is to freeze them until you determine their fate. They freeze brilliantly in ice-cube trays – once they're solid, transfer them to a plastic freezer bagso it's easy to take out as many as you need.
Egg whites make a great, light, tempura-ish batter – beat about 130gflour with a good pinch of salt and water until you have something the thickness of double cream. Restin the fridge for an hour, then gently fold in two egg whites, beaten until stiff. Use this batter tocoat goujons of fish or chicken, orto dip vegetables into before deep-frying.
And, of course, there's always meringues. I have nothing against them. Understatement! After all, they're one of the most magical things ever to come out of an oven. But even I don't want meringues allthe time. To ring the changes, tryyour hand at this week's macaroon recipe. I understand thatthemacaroon – or, to give it itsmore fashionable name, the macaron – is the replacement for the cupcake in chic sweet-toothed circles these days. And, indeed, itisrather more grown-up, elegant, refined. Better yet, if you have any leftover dark chocolate Easter eggs, you can use them in the ganache filling (though Irealise that "chocolate thrift" is formany an oxymoron).
Or how about a batch of slim and seductive tuiles, the polar opposite of billowy meringues? They're the perfect glass-mate to posh ice-creams or sorbets (raising the scoops to dinner party status in an instant). Or, if you have any ganache left over, sandwich in a thin layer between two tuiles for an indulgent biscuit to go with a cup of tea. Youcould even dunk.
So if you're remanded in custardy this weekend, don't fire until you can see the whites of their eggs. Yes, I've finally lost it. Must be spring fever.
Chocolate macaroons
These are rich, slightly chewy and surprisingly easy. They're better made with egg whites separated, covered and left in a cool place overnight. Makes 12.
125g icing sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
165g ground almonds
3 egg whites
55g caster sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
For the ganache
100g plain chocolate, chopped into small pieces
100ml double cream
Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Dip a 4.5cm circular biscuit cutter or small glass into flour, and use it to mark out 24 circles on the parchment set about 3cm apart (this will make it easier to make even-sized macaroons).
Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, and whisk in the almonds. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then gradually whisk in the sugar until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Stirhalf the almond mixture into theegg whites, then add the rest, along with the vanilla, and fold untiljust combined.
Transfer the mixture to a plastic bag and cut a 1cm hole in the bottom. Pipe on to the baking sheets using the flour circles as your guide. Tap the sheets hard on a worktop to eliminate air bubbles.
Bake until the macaroons feel slightly firm, about 18 minutes. Remove, allow to cool slightly, then transfer on the parchment to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the ganache, put the chocolate in a bowl. Warm the creamin a small saucepan until barely simmering, pour this over thechocolate, leave to stand for two minutes, then stir until the mix is smooth and cool. Spread some ganache on to half the macaroons and sandwich together with the remaining ones. Refrigerate, covered, until you're ready to serve.
Financiers
These tender little buns are usually made in special rectangular tins (saidto resemble gold bars, hence the name), but they're just as good made in a regular old 12-hole bun tin. Thebrowned butter gives them adistinctive and delicious flavour. Makes 12.
115g unsalted butter
1 tbsp runny, mild honey
40g plain flour, plus a little extra fordusting
125g icing sugar
140g skinned hazelnuts or almonds, ground
Pinch of flaky sea salt
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
30g flaked almonds
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. In a small pan, warm the butter over medium heat. Use a tablespoon of softened butter to grease a 12-hole financiers tin or buntin, dust with flour and chill.
Heat the remaining butter until the milk solids turn nut brown in colour and the clear liquid is a rich, golden amber. Strain into a bowl, discard the solids and whisk in the honey. Set aside to cool.
Sieve the flour and sugar into amixing bowl, then whisk in the ground nuts and salt. Stir in the egg whites until well combined, then pour in the browned butter and mixuntil smooth.
Divide the mixture between the prepared tins, sprinkle on the flaked almonds and bake for six minutes. Turn down the heat to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and cook for a further six minutes. Turn off the oven andleave the cakes in there for five minutes to firm up. Remove, allow to cool for five minutes in the tins, then turn out on to a rack to cool completely.
Almond tuiles
The secret to these whisper-thin, melt-in-the-mouth biscuits is a fairly soft batter. The recipe calls for 100g egg whites, which is roughly what you'll get from three eggs. Separate your eggs, weigh them and then weigh out equal amounts of butter, sugar and flour for perfection. Makes 24-30.
100g butter, softened, plus a little more for greasing
100g caster sugar
100g egg white
100g plain flour, sieved
15g slivered almonds, lightly toasted (optional )
Heat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3. Line two baking trays with lightly buttered, nonstick parchment. Toensure you get neat rectangular tuiles, it's time to get out the craft knife and make yourself a very hi-tech River Cottage tuile template: take the lid from an ice-cream tub, cut off the rim and cut 3cm x 6cm rectangles out of the top. If all that sounds too much of apalaver, makeround ones instead – they're just as delicious.
In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light, then, a little at atime, slowly beat in the egg whites until smooth. Stir in the flour and chill for 20 minutes.
Either use the template and aspatula to spread the mixture inthinrectangles on the sheets or drop it on in teaspoonfuls, leaving space for them to spread.
Bake for three minutes, then scatter on the almonds (if using) andbake for a further three minutes for rectangular ones, or five minutes for round ones, until light golden brown. Leave for a minute on the tray,then transfer to a wire rack tocool completely.
