Vegan Apple Meringue is a quick and easy gluten free, family friendly dessert. A layer of sweetened stewed apples is topped with a fluffy cloud of meringue made with aquafaba!
I’m very excited to be sharing my Vegan Apple Meringue recipe with you today. I was going to re-shoot my Apple Meringue recipe a couple of weeks ago but then my oven broke down.
So the apples I’d bought went on to become my Cheat’s Danish Apple Cake (Gammeldags Æblekage), a dessert which didn’t need the oven!
In the time that passed and having got the oven working again, I stumbled across vegan meringues made with aquafaba (drained chickpea water) which I’d never seen before. A light bulb moment then struck!
Aquafaba is used as a replacement for egg white and can be used in all manner of sweet and savoury creations including mousses, mayonnaise, cakes, pancakes etc.
Armed with my new-found knowledge, I set about trying to convert my Apple Meringue recipe which uses eggs to one which uses aquafaba as I love a challenge. It was a bit of a labour of love as I’d only ever used aquafaba once before for a recipe development that I didn’t pursue. But I was determined to get this recipe perfected as Apple Meringue is one of our favourite quick desserts; I couldn’t see anything like it suitable for vegans so thought I should plug this void!
So what did I learn about using aquafaba in my Vegan Apple Meringue?
- Aquafaba whips is more quickly if you use cream of tartar and an electric whisk or stand mixer with glass bowl are essential.
- The best way to check that the aquafaba is whisked enough is to tip the bowl upside down once you have stiff peaks. If it stays put it’s ready for the next stage (adding the sugar).
- Depending on the brand of chickpeas you use, you may have more or less sediment in the drained water. More sediment means the aquafaba will take a little longer to whisk into fluffy, stiff white peaks and the volume of fluff will be reduced (which isn’t a problem, but just something to be aware of if you go from one brand to another and notice a change). I found branded chickpeas had more sediment and supermarket own had less. (The pictures I shot were done using aquafaba from branded chickpeas but when I used supermarket ones the meringue rose higher on baking as I assume the aquafaba held more air due to there being less protein sediment).
- The resulting meringue layer is not as “firm” as that on the Apple Meringue I make with egg whites, it’s fluffier.
What can you use the leftover chickpeas for after using the aquafaba?
Leftover chickpeas can be made into a quick salad with some chopped up peppers, red onion and a French dressing or popped into a curry like my Mushroom, Spinach & Chickpea Curry, which is how I used up my chickpeas!
What other fruit or filling could you use in place of Bramley apples?
You could use dessert apples (just reduce the amount of sugar) or any stewed fruit you like and tinned fruit or pie filling would work well too. I used a couple of tins of rhubarb in one of my trial runs which was also yummy!
What other vegan desserts can be made using aquafaba?
I asked some fellow bloggers for their aquafaba sweet creations and here is what they came up with:
- Vegan Aquafaba Pavlova with Coconut Cream & Berries
- Snickerdoodle Mug Cake
- Vegan English Pancakes
- Vegan Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Mousse
- Brown Sugar & Spice Donut Waffles
- Peanut Butter Vegan Macarons
- Magic Chocolate Mousse
- Coconut Macaroons
I’m sure you’ll love my Vegan Apple Meringue! Do leave a comment and rating below. You can also share your creation with me by tagging @FabFood4All on social media!
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Vegan Apple Meringue
Ingredients
- 3 Bramley apples about 750 g
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For meringue:
- 100 mls aquafaba drained unsalted chickpea water
- Scant 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 135 g caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Peel, core and quarter the apples, then cut each quarter into 4 slices and place in saucepan filled with water.
- Drain off water, then add 1 tbsp of water, sugar and lemon juice.
- Place on a medium heat, pop on a lid and stir occasionally until apples are cooked (about 10 mins).
- Meanwhile make the meringue.
- Add the aquafaba and cream of tartar to a spotlessly clean glass bowl and whisk with an electric whisk on high until stiff peaks form (can take anywhere between 3 – 6 minutes). You know it’s ready once you can hold the bowl upside down without it moving.
- Then gradually add 1 dessert spoon of sugar at a time and carry on whisking (adding to the opposite side of your whisk stops it flying out of the bowl) until all the sugar is incorporated and you have a smooth glossy meringue.
- By now your apples are ready so tip into heat proof serving dish and spread out evenly.
- Next tip the meringue out on top of the apples and spread out with a spatula.
- You can pat the spatula across the top to make ruffles or just have a smooth finish if you prefer.
- Then place on a baking tray and bake in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp on top. (Don’t over bake or the meringue may burst out over the sides so keep an eye on it).
- Serve immediately.
Cathy
I freeze my aquafaba every time I open a tin of chickpeas. It keeps perfectly well until I need to use it.
Camilla
Thank you for sharing Cathy, great tip!
SANDRA
Excellent recipe. Easy to follow and easy to make. I look forward to trying more from your site.
Camilla
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it:-)
Kristin Burdsall
This is the perfect recipe to use up the bramleys in my freezer 🙂
Camilla
It really is:-)
Jennifer
This recipe worked beautifully and the apple filling was absolutely delicious – thank you so much, I will definitely make this again!
Camilla
Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for your feedback, this recipe was a labour of love to develop so I’m so pleased to hear that:-)
kellie@foodtoglow
I’ve been using aquafaba to make recipes since 2015 but, do you know, I’ve never made meringue. Crazy, huh? Your images are divine, and I’m sure it tastes just as heavenly as it looks. Thanks for linking to my magic chocolate mousse and brown sugar donuts. 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Kellie, I see they’re going to make vegan meringue on Great British Bakeoff next week so I can’t wait to watch that:-)
Camilla
Thanks Kellie, I see they’re making aquafaba meringues on BakeOff next week so I’m excited to see that!
Ren Behan
Gosh, isn’t it amazing? I love all the other ideas you’ve included too. Time to start experimenting. We have lots of apples and lots of tins of chickpeas!
Camilla
Thanks Ren, yes there’s so much that can be made with this miracle ingredient:-)
Kavita Favelle
Great idea Camilla for a vegan version of your family favourite! Really looks great!
Camilla
Thanks Kavey:-)
Julia
Mmm… this looks so pretty and tasty! 🙂
Camilla
Thank you Julia!
Cindy Gordon
I LOVE this! I have been wanting to try meringue with aqua faba!! So excited!
Camilla
Excellent, I hadn’t even know it was possible until last week:-)
Kelly Anthony
This vegan meringue looks like a great alternative. It is beautiful and all the things a meringue should be. Great work!
Camilla
Thank you Kelly, aquafaba is so versatile:-)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Meringue is one of my favourite desserts but I am yet to try it with apple. This looks delicious!
Camilla
Thanks Bintu, it works so well with apple:-)
Danielle Wolter
What an amazing recipe! SO unique 🙂 I’m not vegan, but it’s great to know how to make meringue if I ever need to make something vegan for someone!
Camilla
Thanks Danielle, yes or for when you want to make meringue and have run out of eggs:-)
Jacqueline Meldrum
That looks amazing Camilla and I love that you made it with apple instead of lemon. I’ve only used aquafaba in chocolate mousse. I really must do more with it. Thanks for including one of my recipes. Shared x
Camilla
Thanks Jacs, I’m looking forward to doing more with aquafaba:-)
Nico @ yumsome
I love apple meringue! Also, gooseberry, rhubarb… I’ve meringued them all! Ha ha! So cool that you’ve made a vegan one – huzzah!
Thank you for including a link to my macaroons, too – much appreciated! xx
Camilla
It’s so good isn’t it! I did actually sub apples for a tins of rhubarb in the development process as I made this 3 times before getting the quantities and ratio how I wanted:-)
Mandy
I’m definitely going to make this soon – it looks amazing! Thanks for linking to my recipe.
Camilla
Thanks Many – a pleasure:-)
Livia
I have to try it! Looks delicious!
Camilla
Thank you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it:-)