These easy to make Mini Meringues with Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate in the perfect candy size are just the treat you need. Sweet and crispy with just a hint of salt - you won't be able to stop at one, or ten... Great on their own - as well as on top of ice cream and other desserts.
Why you will love this recipe
- These mini meringues are just so good with the perfect balance between sweet & salty
- They're easy to make - just follow my tips below
- They keep really well - at least 2 weeks in an airtight tin, and you can even freeze mini meringues for a couple of months
- They're a dessert on their own - not just your basic meringues
What you need to make them
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Salted caramel sauce - I make my own, but you can use store bought as well
- Dark chocolate - I prefer one with at least 85% cacao
- White wine vinegar can be swapped for lemon juice or eddik vinegar
- Salted butter can be switched for unsalted and an extra pinch of salt
- Egg whites - the best ones have been sitting in the fridge for a few days
How to make them
If you're using a store bought salted caramel sauce, you can skip to the section about making the mini meringues below.
How to make salted caramel sauce
- Mix water and sugar in a sauce pan, then place over medium heat
- Stir constantly until it starts to boil and then stop stirring completely, and allow to simmer until it has a nice caramel or amber color
- Pour in the cream carefully, as it might cause the caramel to bubble up
- Mix
- Mix in butter
- Add vanilla sugar and fine table salt
- Mix well, taste test ,and add more salt if desired. Set aside to cool down. Meanwhile, make the batter for the mini meringues!
How to make mini meringues
- Place egg whites in a clean and newly washed glass or stainless steel bowl
- Add vinegar
- Mix the egg whites until they form stable peaks - they should stay in place even if you turn the bowl upside down
- Mix in the granulated sugar a little (no more than 1 tablespoon) at a time. Ensure the meringue is still just as firm as before, before adding more sugar. Continue until all granulated sugar has been added.
- Add the confectioner's sugar
- Gently fold it into the meringue - don't mix too much
- Mix in a few tablespoons of salted caramel sauce
- Melt the chocolate in a water bath - meaning, you place a heat resistant bowl over a pot of boiling water and allow the chocolate to melt. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool down for at least 5 minutes.
- Prep a piping bag with the tip of your choice (I used a Wilton 4B for these meringues), a clamp to avoid dripping, and then coat the inside of the bag with the melted chocolate
- Then scoop in the meringue
- Prep a baking tray with parchment paper, and then pipe out mini meringues with some space in between. Top with crushed se salt flakes.
- Bake in the middle of the oven at 210°F (100°C) for about 1.5 hours, then allow to cool slightly before moving
Tips & tricks
- Don't make meringues on a humid day or they might never set
- Don't stir the salted caramel once it starts boiling - no stirring is the best way to avoid sugar crystals in the finished sauce. If the coloring is uneven, you can instead tip the pan gently to mix it.
- Never use a plastic bowl for making meringues - always use either glass or stainless steel
- Always wash and dry the bowl thoroughly before using, so there is no fatty residue on it. Fat is meringue's worst enemy!
- Use room temperature eggs - warmer egg whites will whip a lot faster
- Whip the egg whites on their own first, together with the acidic component, until they're hard and peaky and can withstand the bowl-upside-down test. This makes it much faster than if you add sugar from the start.
- Add in the granulated sugar slowly. Really slowly. A tablespoon at a time, or even less.
- Don't add too much salted caramel sauce or it might negatively impact the stability of the meringues
- Open the oven door once halfway through baking to let out any steam
- Mini meringues take their time in the oven - take them out too early and they will not just be chewy in the middle, they will be underdone
- They're done when they're easy to remove - in one piece - from the tray
Recipe FAQ
Why does my meringue not form solid peaks?
If you are not seeing stable peaks after 10 minutes, you have probably accidentally had some fat added to it. In this case, you will need to start over.
To avoid this happening, make sure to use a glass or stainless steel bowl that you wash well with detergent just before using.
What is the difference between Italian, Swiss, and French meringue?
The difference between these types of meringue lies in how they are made and how they are commonly used. They all generally contain the same ingredients.
French meringue is baked for a long time on low heat, and results in the crispy and slightly chewy meringues you see in this recipe.
Italian meringue and Swiss meringue are always soft and they're the kind you see on top of cakes, pies and tartlets.
For all three types you start by whipping egg whites. Then, while for a French meringue you just mix in the sugar with the egg whites, for an Italian meringue you make a syrup from heating sugar and water and mix in this with the egg whites while still hot.
For a Swiss meringue you instead gently beat the egg whites with the sugar in a water bath while heating to at least 175°F (79°C). You then remove it from the heat and mix on higher speed until it's voluminous, and then on lower speed until it's cooled and very stiff.
If you are worried about salmonella, the heating of the Swiss meringue makes this a safer choice than Italian.
More sweet recipes
Love sweet recipes, like these mini meringues? Then check out these great options:
- Christmas Hot Chocolate
- Cinnamon Cookies
- Butterball Cookies
- Candied Ginger
- Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Walnut Brownies with Cocoa Powder
Did you love this recipe? Rate it five stars!
...and let me know what you loved about it in the comments.
Recipe
Mini Meringues with Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate
Print Pin RateServings: 100 meringues
Calories: 9kcal
Cook time: 2 hours
Total time: 2 hours
Ingredients
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 2 tablespoon water
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
- 2 tablespoon salted butter cut in small pieces, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
Mini meringues
- 2 egg whites at room temperature
- ⅕ teaspoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 oz dark chocolate 85% cacao
- 4 tablespoon salted caramel sauce homemade or store bought
- 1 teaspoon salt flakes
Instructions
Salted Caramel Sauce (makes about 8 tablespoons)
- Mix water and sugar in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir constantly until it starts to boil, then stop stirring completely.
- Let it simmer until the color has changed to a caramel or amber color, this takes about 5-10 minutes - keep a close watch. Remember, don't stir. If the coloration comes out uneven you can instead tip the saucepan slightly to either side to gently mix it.
- Once the color is right, remove the sauce from the heat and slowly mix in the cream. Be careful as you do this, as the mixture might bubble up a lot. Then mix in the butter until melted, followed by vanilla powder and salt. Taste test and add more salt if desired.
- Set the salted caramel sauce aside for now and let it cool a bit before using for your meringues.
Mini meringues
- Start by bringing out a glass or stainless steel bowl and wash and dry it to ensure no fatty residue, as this will beak the meringue. Dry the bowl off.
- Place egg whites and vinegar in the bowl and mix with an electric mixer, starting on a low setting and increasing the speed as the egg whits get more solid. Mix until firm (5-10 minutes) - check by removing the mixer and making sure the peaks formed stay in place, or by carefully turning the bowl upside down and making sure it all stays in place.
- Once the egg whites are firm, keep mixing and add in the granulated sugar a little at a time. Add no more than 1 tablespoon at a time, and then mix well and ensure the meringue is still firm before adding more sugar. Repeat until all granulated sugar has been added.
- Finally, turn the electric mixer off and add in the confectioner's sugar. Gently fold into the meringue with a large spoon. Set aside for now.
- Preheat the oven for 210°F (100°C).
- Break the chocolate into smaller pieces and place in a heat resistant bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water - it should not touch the water - and stir until the chocolate has melted. Let cool for 5 minutes before using.
- While the chocolate is cooling, place a baking sheet on an oven tray. Then bring out a piping bag and fit with your piping tip of choice.
- Mix in the salted caramel sauce with the meringue batter.
- Lace the inside of the pastry bag with melted chocolate. Don't use too much (it should just be on the sides), but make sure you have chocolate on all sides.
- Scoop in the meringue in the piping bag, remove the clamp and pipe out mini meringues on the baking sheet. Make nice-looking meringues by holding the nozzle straight and lifting straight up when you're happy with your meringue. Top with crushed salt flakes.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1.5 hours. Open once halfway to let out any steam. The meringues are finished when they are easily lifted from the baking sheet.
Equipment (may contain affiliate links)
- Baking tray
- Wilton 4B decorating tip (or other piping tip)
Notes
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Salted caramel sauce - I make my own, but you can use store bought as well
- Dark chocolate - I prefer one with at least 85% cacao
- White wine vinegar can be swapped for lemon juice or eddik vinegar
- Salted butter can be switched for unsalted and an extra pinch of salt
- Egg whites - the best ones have been sitting in the fridge for a few days
Tips & tricks
- Don't make meringues on a humid day or they might never set
- Don't stir the salted caramel once it starts boiling - no stirring is the best way to avoid sugar crystals in the finished sauce. If the coloring is uneven, you can instead tip the pan gently to mix it.
- Never use a plastic bowl for making meringues - always use either glass or stainless steel
- Always wash and dry the bowl thoroughly before using, so there is no fatty residue on it. Fat is meringue's worst enemy!
- Use room temperature eggs - warmer egg whites will whip a lot faster
- Whip the egg whites on their own first, together with the acidic component, until they're hard and peaky and can withstand the bowl-upside-down test. This makes it much faster than if you add sugar from the start.
- Add in the granulated sugar slowly. Really slowly. A tablespoon at a time, or even less.
- Don't add too much salted caramel sauce or it might negatively impact the stability of the meringues
- Open the oven dorr once halfway through baking to let out any steam
- Mini meringues take their time in the oven - take them out too early and they will not just be chewy in the middle, they will be underdone
- They're done when they're easy to remove - in one piece - from the tray
Nutrition
Calories: 9kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 31mg | Potassium: 3mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
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Fábia Rodrigues
Gostaria de provar esses merengues, parecem deliciosos😍😍😍
Emmeline
Muy obrigada!
Alexandra
First of all: These look DELICIOUS! Well done!
Secondly: You're too kind, but I much rather [indirectly] contribute to your blog than have my own. Here are two more meringue fun facts:
1) Italian meringue makes an excellent base in fruit mousse.
2) There is no stress using the leftover egg whites - from a meringue PoV it's better if they air in the fridge for a few days before use, to let water evaporate.
Keep up the good work!
Emmeline
Thank you, Alexandra! Your suggestion to add some sea salt really put them over the top - can't stop eating them!
Thanks for the additional facts - might include them in the post so they don't get lost. After all, I rely on you for (almost) all my baking knowledge! 🙂