“My, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one’s late. I’ll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all.” –Fa Zhou, Mulan
 

 

Cherry Blossom Meringues {Vegan}

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This is a vegan meringue recipe that is made with the liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans. It uses vinegar or lemon juice rather than cream of tartar. Celebrate spring and the Cherry Blossom Festival by creating cherry blossom meringues using cherry jelly and a petal tip.

Yield: About 30 cherry blossom meringues

Prep time:
Cook time:
Idle time:
Total time:

Ingredients
Vegan Meringue
Cherry Blossom Color (Optional)
Instructions
Vegan Meringue Mix
  1. Use an electric mixer to beat the chickpea water and vinegar in a large bowl. Start at the lowest speed setting and gradually increase to the highest setting until soft peaks form.
  2. Decrease the speed to medium and add the powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time.
  3. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, increase the speed to the highest setting. Keep beating until stiff peaks form.
  4. Preheat oven to 200°F (95°C).
Meringue Options
Regular Meringues
  1. In a separate bowl, mix the vanilla with 1 tablespoon of the meringue mix.
  2. Add the vanilla mixture back into the bowl of meringue mix and blend well.
  3. Spoon or pipe the meringue mix onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Cherry Blossom Meringues
  1. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla and 1 teaspoon of the jelly. Add 1 tablespoon of the meringue mix to the vanilla and jelly and mix well.
  2. Add the jelly mixture into the large bowl of meringue mix and blend well.
  3. Take out 1½ teaspoon of the meringue mix and mix it with the other 1 teaspoon of jelly in a small bowl. Set this dark pink mix aside. (This will be the center of the flowers.)
  4. Pour the meringue mix into a piping bag fitted with a petal tip.
  5. Pipe the cherry blossoms using a flower nail and a blossom template. Tape a sheet of parchment paper to the flower nail and pipe a 5-petal flower onto the parchment paper.
  6. Remove the parchment paper from the flower nail and place onto a baking sheet. Use a clean toothpick to get rid of any air bubbles.
  7. Once you have piped all the cherry blossoms, retrieve the dark pink mix that was set aside earlier. Use one end of a toothpick to add a drop of the mix to the center of each flower. Use the other end of the toothpick to marble the dark pink center. Clean the toothpick between each use.
  8. To define the petals, hold a clean toothpick on the outside of two petals and perpendicular to the surface. Make one clean stroke towards the center and lift when close to, but not yet at, the center. Clean the toothpick between each stroke.
Bake Meringues
  1. Bake the meringues in the oven for 1½ hours. Turn off the heat and let them cool in the oven for another hour.
  2. Enjoy the meringue cookies on their own or with your favorite filling sandwiched between two.

Notes
  1. Unlike with egg whites that beat easier at room temperature, it is easier to work with chickpea water that is cold.
  2. There’s no need to worry about overworking the chickpea water. It does not seem to get overworked and grainy like egg whites do. Best to beat it as long as possible.
  3. If you don’t own a flower nail, you can use a cooking thermometer with a circular top.
  4. For the petal tip, I used Wilton #104.
  5. Use the search term “blossom flower nail template” to find a 5-petal flower template to use as a guide for making the cherry blossoms.