Vegan Meringue Mushrooms

mushroom meringue cookies with chocolate.

These vegan meringue mushrooms are perfect for topping your vegan Bûche de Noël or tree stump cake. Made using aquafaba, they're completely eggless and dairy-free.

Course Snack

Cuisine French

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 2

Servings 40-60 meringue mushrooms

Calories 26kcal

Author Christina Leopold

Ingredients

236 ml aquafaba *see notes, prep ahead of time (see step 1)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
200 g caster sugar (superfine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 g cornflour (cornstarch) plus extra for dusting, sifted
10 g unsweetened cocoa powder
75 g vegan dark chocolate

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Reduce the aquafaba (at least 2 hours prior to making the recipe)

The first step is reducing the aquafaba, this can be done the night before or at least two hours in advance of making the recipe. Add the aquafaba to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer until it has reduced by half in volume. After 5 minutes of simmering, check the volume by pouring the liquid into a bowl on your weighing scales or measure the volume by cups (be careful as it’s going to be hot!). If there's more than half of the original liquid volume continue to simmer until it reduces to half a cup.
Allow the aquafaba to cool to room temperature and pour into a jar and refrigerate to chill.

Mushroom meringues

Preheat your oven to 100°C (212°F). Line a baking pan with some parchment paper and dust with a thin layer of cornflour - this will make it easier to lift the meringues once they are ready and prevent them from sticking to the paper.
Take a large clean bowl, and make sure it's completely dry and free of any grease. Add the aquafaba and cream of tartar to a large bowl and whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until soft peaks form.
Add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time while continuing to whisk and incorporate the sugar into the aquafaba. Whisk in each tablespoon for about 30 seconds before adding the next. Continue this process until you have incorporated all of the sugar, then whisk for another 10 minutes until thick and glossy. Add the vanilla extract if using and whisk for a minute to combine.
Add the cornflour to each bowl, and carefully fold it through the meringue mixture using a spatula until it is just incorporated - do not over-mix.
Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Pipe the mushroom capes onto one baking sheet, allowing about a centimeter or so between each one. You can vary the sizes to resemble real mushrooms. If needed, you can use the back of a spoon to flatten out any kinks from lifting the piping bag.
On the second baking sheet, pipe the stems by pulling upwards whilst piping. Use a sieve to dust both trays of meringues with some cocoa powder.
Bake in the oven for 60-75 minutes. Check they are ready by lifting one of the meringues, it should come clean from the tray. Once ready, leave the meringues in the oven for another 15 minutes with the door ajar. Take the tray out of the oven and allow the meringues to cool completely for another 30-60 minutes before removing them from the tray.
Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie (double boiler). Using a skewer or cocktail sitck, pierce a hole into the underneath of all the mushroom caps. Using a pastry brush, coat the underneath with melted chocolate and then carefully stick a mushroom stem into the hole. Repeat this with the remaining mushrooms.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can also freeze them in an airtight container for several months.

Notes

Aquafaba: The liquid part from tinned chickpeas.
Cream of tartar: Substitute with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
To tell when they are cooked, they’re ready once you’re able to lift them off the baking sheet without sticking.

Nutrition