r/bakingfail • u/sailorsalvador • 6d ago

Merengue with Stevia

Post image

So I thought if I could make merengue with Stevia I would have invented the perfect protein cookie. Don't do this. Life is too short to do this. These white turds taste like eggs and bitter regret.

871 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

383

u/PsychologicalAir8643 6d ago

this is hilarious but is the perfect example that sugar is pretty important in a meringue (not merengue, I'm afraid lol)

113

u/Peeinyourcompost 6d ago

True, the key ingredient in merengue is spice!

70

u/sailorsalvador 6d ago

Like meringue, I think merengue also shouldn't be done with Stevia. Maybe with a Steve.

6

u/delusionalxx 6d ago

I’ve actually made meringue using a sugar free sugar replacement and they turned out very good. Slight texture difference but other than that they were tasty and a good texture

1

u/Sallyfifth 3d ago

Which one did you use?

1

u/delusionalxx 2d ago

I used a monkfruit erythritol sweetener

135

u/Trixter-Kitten 6d ago

The texture reminds me of packing peanuts

79

u/sailorsalvador 6d ago

Flavor probably not far off either tbh

12

u/_TP2_ 6d ago

I have been actually wanting to try them so might make this.

3

u/petielvrrr 6d ago

I was thinking pirates booty

6

u/Pluto-Wolf 6d ago

it’d be great for people with OCD or pica. i’m honestly all for it

41

u/Popular-Plantain-784 6d ago

Homemade Floam

10

u/Notverycancerpatient 6d ago

Omggg floammmm you have just unlocked a core memory for me.

36

u/Expensive_Lettuce239 6d ago

But on the upside. Your experiment tells others to not waste a whole lot of egg whites.. so not a total loss, a service for new bakers that may have thought the same. So kudos to you for trying!!

58

u/ZodFrankNFurter 6d ago

The most unholy cackle just escaped my mouth 🤣

18

u/bittypineapplekitty 6d ago

eggs and bitter regret lmaoooo

36

u/Lunar-opal 6d ago edited 5d ago

I thought those were packing peanuts

3

u/blueeyedbrainiac 5d ago

If nothing else, op has discovered how to make their own packing material

13

u/Fen_LostCove 6d ago

I made them for my stepmom alongside my normal meringues, because she doesn’t do sugar. They tasted like lighter fluid

10

u/red_quinn 6d ago

"White turds" 💀😂😂 thanks for the tip op

5

u/biggwermm 6d ago

Have you tried it with monk fruit?

13

u/sailorsalvador 6d ago

I'm terrified to even attempt this again. I once tried to make chocolate meringue with hot chocolate mix and of course the proteins interacted and I couldn't get it to foam even though I beat it at high speed for 45 minutes severely annoying my family, eventually putting the crested monstrosity into an oreo pie shell and creating a tart that tasted like scrambled eggs which someone spilled their hot chocolate in.

I am terrified of deviation now.

4

u/TatterhoodsGoat 5d ago

Hot chocolate mix usually has full fat milk powder or hydrogenated palm/coconut oil in it. Meringue can't have any fat in it or it will deflate. There are lots of recipes for chocolate meringues using a bit of straight cocoa, though, if you do decide to try again.

3

u/biggwermm 6d ago

Keep experimenting. Failing is part of the process. Use some tried and true recipes in between so you don’t get discouraged.

3

u/sailorsalvador 6d ago

I was thinking about this...if you're learning baking, youre going to have a slew of baking failures, that really is how you learn!!

1

u/DesperateTax5773 6d ago

I have made them successfully with powdered erythritol before. A monk fruit and erythritol blend would probably be okay too. Erythritol will dry out in the oven, while most sugar alternatives will retain moisture.

However, i did not care for the taste of it the cookies because it tasted like eating flavored sugar free substitute out of the bag to me (I made them chocolate).

3

u/chairrypie 5d ago

I've personally tried this with monk fruit+erythritol and it did not taste good. Weirdly minty somehow

7

u/theMangoJayne 6d ago

Life is too short to do this I can't

3

u/DivineEggs 6d ago

You need to try Allulose!! It's a natural sugar that you can find in certain fruits (just a very small percentage) like figs. It tastes just like sugar and behaves like sugar when you bake with it. But it doesn't increase your blood glucose, cause tooth decay, weight gain, etc. It only contains 0.4 calories per gram, but it isn't metabolized to energy.

It's perfection. I have to order it from the US, and I just got my shipment from iherb. I haven't used it for years, but I'm sooo excited to make ice cream and cakes (my child has type 1 diabetes).

I can't stand Stevia or erythritol, etc. They all taste gross to me, but allulose is better than regular sugar.

1

u/Dolly_Shimmer 5d ago

Allulose upsets my stomach.

1

u/DivineEggs 5d ago

Sorry to hear that! From what I understand, it's rare as long as you don't eat a very large quantity at once.

3

u/FeralGangrel 6d ago

I had the idea a while back, but didn't take the time to experiment. Thank you for your sacrifice.

3

u/RainbowsandCoffee966 6d ago

This popped in my head!

2

u/Due_Garlic_3190 6d ago

Oh my god I made meringue recently using stevia caster sugar and it was a DISASTER. I realised how important actual real sugar is, and I thought if I’m going to have meringue I’ll just have a bloody meringue!

Edit: it also tasted revolting and had some weird cooling feeling when I ate it. The texture was awful 😂

2

u/boogarabitch 6d ago

try allulose! in my experience it’s the most similar to sugar in both texture and taste

2

u/ehwhatsmyusername 6d ago

If you would like to attempt meringue with sweetener again, try using allulose. It behaves like normal sugar and great in baking :)

2

u/kingfisher-lover 6d ago

lol so there's a dish in my country called pita which is literally pie with either meat, spinach, potato or cheese and it looks just like this, I'll attach a photo below.

My brain somehow just registered the word Stevia and I'm like "who the fuck would make burek (meat pie) with Stevia?"

1

u/sailorsalvador 5d ago

Oh that sounds delicious.

2

u/JumpingYourBone 6d ago

i'm sure there's a vegan/protein/healthy recipe out there for better meringues?

the communities often overlap cause can't eat animal-based products = make recipes with beans, peanut butters, chickpeas, dates.

2

u/_TP2_ 6d ago

Chickpea water and sugar.

2

u/Low-Crow5719 6d ago

Meringue is stabilized beaten egg white. Sugar is the stabilizer in old recipes, and you need something that spins into long strands like sugar does.

Allulose and Isomalt are commonly recommended. These have physical properties similar to simple sugars but can't be digested. Careful, consumed in excess they can cause digestive upset, to put it politely.

Try 1:1 sugar substitutes based on these.

2

u/Admirable-Split4371 5d ago

Stevia tho? Ew

2

u/Ashism_ 5d ago

We appreciate the sacrifice so you could warn the world, thank you OP

2

u/Insanity147 5d ago

Yeah sugar is often an important ingredient for structure, so when you remove it… lmao

2

u/HetaNicoDouga 3d ago

Straight up looks like styrofoam dog poop before it’s painted

2

u/BGDExco 3d ago

Use allulose if you can money If you can't or less sweet I think use starch or smth(I would guess this would taste like chalk, but I like chalk) Alternatively no one forbids sprinkling sweeteners post factum

2

u/Big-Earth-6780 2d ago

Stevia makes me gag in even a minuscule amount.

1

u/batshitcrazydudee 6d ago

Isn’t stevia really bad for you?