These mocha meringue clouds are perfect pillows of coffee heaven. A crispy outer shell gives way to a soft marshmallowy inside packed with espresso flavor. And a bittersweet chocolate coating balances out the sweetness! These mocha meringues are easily packable and can be made in advance for your next party!
Made with egg whites and sugar, meringues make a wonderful base for so many different flavors and textures! This Swiss meringue buttercream is a great topping for so many cakes. And this crispy PB&J pavlova is a fun take on the fluffernutter.
Ingredients
With less than 10 ingredients, you can have a great coffee meringues on the table! Let’s talk through the specifics:
- Egg whites. You can use fresh egg whites, carton eggs (not egg substitutes) or store extra egg whites in the freezer as you use up the yolks for other things, like pastry cream or use them in cookies in these oatmeal cookies!
- Granulated sugar. I typically prefer to make meringues with caster sugar because it’s finer and makes for a smoother meringue. But caster sugar is expensive and difficult to come by, so I give a trick to make our own out of granulated sugar.
- Instant espresso powder. You could also use instant coffee, but I prefer the flavor of instant espresso.
- Cornstarch. Helps to remove some of the moisture from the meringues as they bake for a crispier shell.
- Cream of tartar. Makes for a more stable meringue. King Arthur Flour has a great article explaining the details.
- Dark or unsweetened chocolate bars. Because meringues are so naturally sweet, I like a really dark chocolate to balance it, in fact an unsweetened chocolate is even good here! Use a chocolate baking bar instead of chocolate chips because chips will not melt as nicely.
Variations
Not a coffee fan, leave the espresso powder out! Dislike chocolate, feel free to leave the chocolate dip off, or do a light drizzle for a more subtle chocolate flavor.
Making Coffee Meringues
The most difficult part of meringues is the patience required! They do take some time, but it is a ton of hands off time!
Egg whites are the main ingredient in meringues. Be careful to avoid even a drop of egg yolks in the mixture or it will not whip correctly. I use the 3-bowl method to separate eggs. Starting with cold eggs, crack the egg over Bowl 1 catching the egg white. Place the yolk in Bowl 2. Transfer the egg white to Bowl 3.
By cracking the egg separately you can avoid contaminating the entire bowl of egg whites in case a yolk breaks.
DIY Caster Sugar
I mentioned above that I prefer to make meringues with caster sugar, which is a finer grain of sugar, for a smoother meringue.
To make your own caster sugar, blitz regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender for a couple of minutes. This will give us a finer texture sugar that dissolves better into the egg whites.
While I’m at it, I blend in the espresso powder, cornstarch and salt. This makes sure everything is fine and well-blended!
Don’t have a food processor or blender, you can skip this, you may just notice a slightly grainier final texture, no biggie! Just be sure to whisk everything together so you still have everything evenly distributed!
Meringues and Humidity
Meringues hate humidity. Skip making these on a rainy or overly humid day or you will find the meringues will not dry out properly and will quickly begin to weep.
Whipping Meringues
To whip up a proper meringue, you need to follow a few guidelines.
Start with just egg whites. Begin whipping your egg whites and sugar alone until they opaque and hold stiff peaks. Stiff peaks mean when you lift your beaters out of the egg whites, the point of the whipped egg whites on the end will droop but not fall completely.
Add sugar SLOWLY. This is most important, add your sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and let it dissolve fully before adding the next spoonful. If you do it right, it will take several full minutes to mix in the sugar.
Stop at stiff peaks. Once all the sugar is incorporated, whip only until stiff peaks form. This means the meringue point on the end of the beaters will not droop when testing. If you whip too long, the structure could collapse and you end up with watery meringues.
Baking & Cooling Meringue Clouds
Meringues need to bake low and slow. This will dry them out and prevent cracks. Bake for several hours at 200°F (95°C).
Once they are crisp, turn the oven off and let the meringues cool inside with just a crack in the door. This will continue to dry out the meringues for a nice crispy exterior.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most likely the oven temperature was too high. They expanded too quickly and cracked. No worries, they will still taste great!
Sure, I like to bake the meringues the night before and leave them in the oven overnight to cool.
Chocolate chips are manufactured with additives to prevent them from melting. If you want a nice thin, smooth chocolate dip use the baking bars.
Mocha Meringue Clouds
Ingredients
- 350 g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 2 ¼ teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 large egg whites 210g
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Coating
- 113 g bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate baking bars finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon canola oil
Instructions
- Position two racks evenly in the oven. Preheat to 200°F (95°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- In a food processor or blender, blitz granulated sugar, espresso powder, cornstarch and salt until texture is fine, 1-2 minutes.350 g granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, 2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons salt
- In a bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or in a very large bowl, add egg whites and cream of tartar. Bowl must be very clean – remove any greasy residue with lemon juice or white vinegar before adding the egg whites.6 large egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Whip egg whites on high speed until opaque and hold soft peaks when beaters are lifted. With mixer running, begin adding a spoonful of the sugar mixture at a time, allowing the sugar to dissolve before adding the next spoonful. This will take several minutes to incorporate.
- Add vanilla extract and continue whipping just until the meringue holds stiff peaks.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Using two large spoons, divide meringue into 8 mounds – 4 on each prepared baking sheet. Leave space between each meringue to puff while baking.
- Bake for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until meringue is crisp on the outside, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Turn off oven and crack door slightly, leaving the meringues inside to cool completely, approximately 2 hours.
- Once meringues are fully cool, gently heat the chocolate until melted. Stir in canola oil and espresso powder. Dip the bottoms of the meringues in the chocolate, scrape off extra chocolate on edge of bowl, and allow to set on wax paper for a smooth bottom.113 g bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate baking bars, 1/2 teaspoon canola oil, 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
Notes
- Store cooled meringues in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Do not make meringues on rainy or especially humid days.
- Fresh or cartoned egg whites can be used. Extra egg whites can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and defrosted when ready to use.
- Chocolate will only cleanly set on wax paper or acetate, if you don’t have either, set the meringues upside down as chocolate cools
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
