Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 100 g of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• food colouring (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Separate egg whites and add them to a very clean heat-proof bowl. Add sugar.
3. Place bowl with egg whites and sugar over a simmering pan of water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Whisk egg whites until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
4. Take whisked egg whites off heat and beat until glossy and stiff with either a stand or hand mixer. This will take another 3-5 minutes.
5. Prepare a piping bag with a large tip. On two or three sides add a couple of small drops of food colouring. Add meringue to piping bag and pipe small bites onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 1 hour or until meringue is hard but not golden. Let cool completely.

Notes

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Large pinch of salt
• 2 squares of chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a pot of simmering water, and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Add salt
2. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled, about 7 minutes.
3. Fill a a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip with meringue and pipe ghost shapes (rounded A's) onto parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. As you finish piping each shape, apply less pressure to pastry bag, and swirl the tip off in a circular motion.
4. Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. In a shallow bowl melt chocolate in microwave in 10 second intervals. Once meringue ghosts are completely cool, dip a toothpick into the chocolate and dab two round eyes on each ghost. Let chocolate harden. Gently insert toothpicks into the bottom of each ghost and add to cupcake of choice.

Ingredients

• 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 cup superfine (caster) sugar or regular sugar
• Drop of food colour or food gel colour of choice

Instructions

1. Line two baking sheets or one large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to lowest temperature (for my oven this is 175°F).
2. Separate your eggs (best done when cold) and add the 5 egg whites into a clean metal mixing bowl. If you get any yolk into the mixing bowl, remove all contents and begin again. Leave bowl on counter until they come to room temperature.
3. Once egg whites are room temperature (warm is best), place bowl back on mixer and fit with whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until egg whites become frothy, about 2 minutes, and add cream of tartar.
4. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add all of the sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. You should be able to hold the bowl upside down over your head with no meringue falling out. Add food colour and beat until combined.
5. Fit a large pastry bag with a large tip and pipe approximately 3-inch circles, working from the middle outwards, followed by two full rings atop one another around the perimeter of the nest. Pipe 14 nests placing a few inches apart.
6. Bake in oven until completely dry and crisp, but not browned, about 90 minutes (this can take much longer, depending on your environment). Nests should lift from parchment with ease. Turn off oven and leave nests inside until oven has cooled, then remove nests from oven.

Notes