I used to be really into World of Warcraft, like really into it.
One of the things I took from my time in the realms of MMORPG’s (massive multiplayer online roleplaying games for the uninitiated), was the whole idea of levelling up. I would spend hours grinding away at NPC mobs in order to level up my huntresses agility, undertaking quests to increase my health, fighting against other players to get to the next level. It didn’t take long to realize that life is pretty much the same (apart from there being less orcs, elves and gnomes).
Levelling up your real life skills is essential and the other day, being the crazy baker I am, I decided to level up my piping skills. In the grand scheme of things, being good with a piping bag may not get you far, but it’s certainly something I’ve long thought of being a master at. Plus, I’d never made meringues before, so when I found this recipe over at the Joy of Baking website, I decided I couldn’t resist.
And who doesn’t love cute,mini mushrooms?
A forest of meringue mushrooms
Needless to say, it wasn’t a complete success, being my first time making meringues and my first time really using my piping bag (unless you count my past, messy cupcake frosting attempts – please don’t), but they tasted delicious and I think they look pretty cute 🙂 My first attempt came out looking like a reject from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory:
First attempt… failed 😦
The directions on the JoB page were a little daunting. I’m no perfectionist, more of a get ‘er done type of girl, so I used a tip for my bag that was too small (it was all I had) and I probably could have spent more time finishing them off, smoothing the tops and making sure they all stood up on their own (which they sure didn’t). I sprinkled them with a little cocoa and attempted to smudge them slightly to get that mushroom-y feel, but alas, they just look like meringues with cocoa on them. Luckily for me, my fiancee (the lucky recipient of my baking trials and errors) proclaimed them delicious and ate the lot.
+1 for my piping skill 🙂
Have fun levelling up! xo
thefoxybaker 