Suspiros

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer or hand mixer
• •Large clean mixing bowl
• •Piping bag with star tip (optional)
• •Baking sheets
• •Parchment paper

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your equipment

   Heat your oven to 100°C (210°F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are completely clean and dry. Any trace of fat or water and your whites won't whip properly. Avó Leonor used to wipe her bowl with a cut lemon and then dry it. I still do the same.

   Separate your eggs while they're cold, then let the whites sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cold eggs separate cleanly; room temperature eggs whip higher.
2. 2

   Whip the egg whites

   Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to your bowl. Begin beating on medium speed until the whites become foamy and opaque, about 2 minutes. Increase to high speed and continue until soft peaks form. When you lift the whisk, the peaks should curl over gently like a wave about to break.

3. 3

   Add the sugar gradually

   With the mixer still running on high, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Wait about 20 seconds between each addition. This is where patience matters. Add it too fast and your meringue won't reach its full potential. Keep beating until the meringue is thick, glossy, and holds stiff peaks. When you rub a bit between your fingers, you shouldn't feel any graininess. This takes 8 to 10 minutes total. Add the vanilla in the last minute if using.

   The meringue is ready when it looks like glossy white satin and the peaks stand straight up without drooping. If they droop, keep beating.
4. 4

   Pipe the suspiros

   Fit a piping bag with a large star tip. Fill it with the meringue. Pipe small rosettes onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3cm apart. They won't spread much. Each suspiro should be about the size of a walnut. You can also use two spoons to drop small mounds if you don't have a piping bag. Avó Leonor never owned a piping bag in her life.

   Hold the bag straight up, squeeze from the top, and lift straight up with a quick flick to create the classic peaked shape.
5. 5

   Dry in the oven

   Place the baking sheets in the oven. Bake at 100°C for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours. The suspiros are done when they lift off the parchment cleanly and feel completely dry to the touch. They should remain white or just barely ivory. If they start to color, your oven is too hot. Turn off the oven, crack the door open, and let them cool completely inside. This prevents cracking.

   You're not really baking these. You're drying them. The low heat evaporates the moisture without cooking the egg whites. Patience, patience.
6. 6

   Store properly

   Once completely cool, suspiros can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Keep them away from humidity. In Portugal, every grandmother stores these in old tin biscuit boxes. They know what they're doing.

Chef Tips

• •Humidity is the enemy of meringue. Don't make suspiros on rainy days. The moisture in the air will prevent them from drying properly and they'll turn sticky.
• •If your suspiros weep (get little beads of moisture), your sugar wasn't dissolved fully or the oven was too hot. Beat longer next time; bake lower and slower.
• •Some Portuguese grandmothers add a tiny pinch of cinnamon to the sugar. Others consider this sacrilege. I leave it to you.
• •Save your egg yolks for pastéis de nata, ovos moles, or toucinho do céu. This is how the convents worked: nothing wasted, everything transformed.

Advance Preparation

• •Suspiros can be made up to two weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They actually improve after a day or two.
• •The meringue mixture must be piped and baked immediately. It cannot wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 6g)