I’m not an especially pink person. I didn’t really like it as a child, which having observed a lot of my son’s female pals, is unusual. It wasn’t an early feminist stance or anything. It was just that all the other girls at school liked pink, so I saw that as my cue to dislike it.

But people do like pink. When I used to teach cupcake decorating classes the pink iced cupcakes got the most likes on Facebook. And these little rose meringues in a dusky pink hue seemed to go down quite well on Facebook and Twitter. So here they are… I might make them in blue next time just to be different though.

These would be very fine served with a nice glass of something chilled at a little gathering in the garden. That’s if the sun ever decides to grace our British summer.

One year ago: Choc dipped ice-cream cones and Sweetie covered ice-cream wafers and Razzamatazz ribs and Thoroughly British banana and custard cupcakes

Two years ago: Banana and custard melts and Thomas fairy cakes

Meringue roses

Makes 32, so 16 paired roses

Ingredients:

– 120g egg whites (about 4 but depends on size of your eggs)

– 200g castor sugar

– Gel food colouring

– cream/buttercream to fill – flavour with rosewater/lavender water/amaretto/Baileys/whatever you fancy!

Whisk your egg whites until beginning to hold their peaks using a KitchenAid wire whisk (if using) on a medium speed. Then whisk in 1 teaspoon of the castor sugar at a time. Finally add gel food colouring if using and mix at a high speed until all combined. The mixture should be thick and glossy and easily stand in peaks.

Pop some foil or baking parchment on a baking tray, fixing it down with a little sticky meringue, then fit an icing bag with a star nozzle (I used Wilton 1M) and start to pipe from the centre outwards, in a continuous circle motion, keeping the nozzle about 1cm from the baking parchment/foil. As you come to the outside of the circle release the pressure from the icing bag so that the meringue tapers off to a thin end – you can then use a toothpick to pull this end into the rose, making it stick out less. Remember to leave about 2cm between each rose as they do expand a bit.

If you have problems holding an icing bag then have a look at this video here:

or this video shows me actually piping a rose from about 4.50 (if you can’t be bothered to listen to all the other bits and bobs about filling a bag and standing properly…)

Bake in a preheated oven at 140C. As soon as they go into the oven turn it down to about 100C, or 90C for a fan. Then after 1 hour ten minutes remove from the oven, checking they’re firm on the outside and lift easily off the foil before you do so. If they don’t simply bake a little longer. They’re happy having the oven door opened and closed a few times. Once cool, sandwich together with buttercream or whipped double cream, possibly laced with rose water or with some finely chopped pistachios stirred through. If filling with cream serve immediately.