Forbidden Fairy Foam

This is a tooth fairy's greatest nightmare. She'll be working extra hard after the kids have eaten some of this forbidden fairy foam--a gorgeous gold dusted, pink spotted cloud of sugary deliciousness. The tooth fairy would never visit me when I had a bad tooth fall out as a child, so maybe she will get a chance to sit back and relax if you have a few...or make them for your daughter's birthday party and send the kids home bouncing off walls.
You won't believe it, but these faux-meringue creations are made of three simple ingredients, and would make a great  and fun project for when the kids are home and on school holidays. It's almost like a scrumptious science experiment, and best of all, they're made in the microwave, so you don't have to turn the oven on and heat up the whole house. They start off as a sticky, coloured marble, and billow up within moments into great fluffy clouds. Yes, there will be stickiness, lots of excitement, possibly some crumbly powdery stuff to sweep up. But the look on the faces of those kids crunching through this forbidden fairy foam is delightful. I had to hide them. My son would stop at nothing to get another, and another. He pulled the table cloth off the buffet just to bring them to his arm's reach, and quickly became a sticky, meringue flavoured little boy. All the better to kiss, I say.
And it wasn't just he who enjoyed this pretty stuff. They look so unique and elegant, you could easily serve mini ones at a high tea or girl's get together, topped with roses or some other feminine garnish. They would also be fabulous for a treat at a little girl's birthday party, with a touch of edible glitter on the tops (be sure to send the kids outside to eat them!)

FORBIDDEN FAIRY FOAM (adapted from Scrumptious)

1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 cups icing sugar
a few drops of pink food colouring
edible glitter or edible gold dust (optional)

Place the egg white and the vanilla in a small bowl. Beat briefly, until the egg has broken down and there are no stringy bits. In a medium sized bowl, place the icing sugar, and make a well in the centre. Gradually add the egg mixture to the icing sugar, slowly incorporating the icing sugar into the wet mixture. You may not have to use all the egg, but combine until all the dry is mixed into the wet to make a thick, pliable icing, the consistency of thick dough. Add a little more icing sugar if it becomes too sticky, it should not leave residue on your hands when you handle it. Dab a little food colouring onto the mixture and twist it randomly through the icing until you have a marbled effect. Roll into walnut sized balls and place in the centre of 7cm round paper patty pans. (If you are using smaller pans, make the balls smaller, and lessen the cooking time accordingly). Sprinkle the tops of each with edible glitter or edible gold dust.
Place 6 at a time inside the microwave on the turntable, in a circle. This ensures they all cook at an even rate. Set the microwave on high and at a setting of two minutes, just to be on the safe side. Start the cooking, watching carefully. After about 30 to 45 seconds, the balls will melt, then start to billow at a rapid rate. They will stop billowing momentarily, then cook for a further 30-45 seconds. Each microwave has different powers so you will have to do a trial run to begin with to see if your fairy foams will have to be cooked for more or less time. The outer should be crisp and firm to touch on removing, as will the inside. If the insides are brown, you have cooked them too long.

Makes approximately 20.