Perfect Meringues

The Italians choose to use a hot sugar syrup, while the French stick to cold sugar; this recipe is half way between the two. By heating the sugar a little and letting it caramelise ever so slightly, these meringues have a beautiful shine and wonderful flavour.

My wife loves it when I make ice cream, often requesting it, and I tend to use five egg yolks in most cases. This is a great way to use up the leftover egg whites. I don't always make meringues right away when making ice cream. Instead sometimes I refrigerate them and save them to use another day.

Getting meringues right can be a tricky affair. This is largely due to the fact that ovens drastically vary in temperature and how they hold it. Therefore this is a rough guide and timing will need to be adjusted with practice. It is essential to use a clean bowl otherwise this recipe will not work. You can whisk the egg whites by hand, but this is definitely a recipe that will benefit from an electric hand mixer or stand mixer.

I've seen many recipes that suggest leaving the meringues in the oven after cooking to allow them to cool completely. This is less reliable as ovens retain heat differently and therefore finding the ideal timing and removing from the oven is more foolproof.

12
1h20m
Serves
12
Prep
20m
Cook
1h
Total
1h20m
Video

Ingredients

300g caster sugar

5 large egg whites

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and spread the sugar evenly leaving a small margin around the edge. Heat the sugar in the oven for 7-8 mins until you see the edges start to melt slightly.
  2. While the sugar is heating, whisk the egg whites slowly at first speeding up in the last two minutes until stiff peaks.
  3. Once the sugar is heated, remove from the oven and turn the oven down immediately to 100ºC/210ºF. Continue to whisk the egg whites on high speed and gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated with the mixture smooth.
  4. Line as many baking sheets as necessary and spoon or pipe your meringues onto the baking sheets. Before putting them in the oven. The size of the dollops of meringue will determine the time taken to cook. If they are mouthful sized, they should only take 40-45 mins while a more substantial one should take around an hour. Huge meringues, like the ones you might find in a café, could take up to two hours.
  5. To tell once your meringues are done, the edge should feel firm to the touch and they should lift easily off the parchment paper. Do not overcook.

Ingredients

300g caster sugar

5 large egg whites

Tap for method

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and spread the sugar evenly leaving a small margin around the edge. Heat the sugar in the oven for 7-8 mins until you see the edges start to melt slightly.
  2. While the sugar is heating, whisk the egg whites slowly at first speeding up in the last two minutes until stiff peaks.
  3. Once the sugar is heated, remove from the oven and turn the oven down immediately to 100ºC/210ºF. Continue to whisk the egg whites on high speed and gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated with the mixture smooth.
  4. Line as many baking sheets as necessary and spoon or pipe your meringues onto the baking sheets. Before putting them in the oven. The size of the dollops of meringue will determine the time taken to cook. If they are mouthful sized, they should only take 40-45 mins while a more substantial one should take around an hour. Huge meringues, like the ones you might find in a café, could take up to two hours.
  5. To tell once your meringues are done, the edge should feel firm to the touch and they should lift easily off the parchment paper. Do not overcook.
by Max Makes Munch
Italian

Nutrition

Calories
101
Fat
0.0
g
Saturates
0.0
g
Carbs
25.1
g
Sugars
25.1
g
Fibre
0.0
g
Sodium
14
mg
Protein
1.5
g

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