Meringue 101

Ingrédients

French Meringue

100 g Egg Whites

200 g Caster Sugar

Swiss Meringue

125 g Egg Whites

250 g Caster Sugar

17 g Cornflour

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Italian Meringue

80 g Egg Whites

225 g Caster Sugar

50 g Water

Instructions

French Meringue

Step 1

Add the egg whites to a stand mixer and whisk on a medium low speed until you have a frothy mixture with small bubbles.

Step 2

With the mixer off, add a tbsp of the sugar then whisk on a medium speed for 20 seconds. Then turn the mixer off, add another tbsp of sugar and mix again. This just prevents the sugar from flying all over the edge of the bowl. Once you’ve added all the sugar, scrape the sides to get rid of any excess granules. Then keep whisking for 10 minutes on a medium speed.

Step 3

Add the mixture to a piping bag and pipe small meringue kisses. Bake at 90C for 75 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Swiss Meringue

Step 4

Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Place it over a pan of gently simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 65C and the sugar dissolves.

Step 5

Remove it from the heat and place it on a stand mixer. Whisk for 7 minutes or until the bowl is cool and you have a stiff meringue. Fold in the cornflour and lemon juice.

Step 6

Pipe into your desired shape for a pavlova and bake at 90C for 1h 40m.

Italian Meringue

Step 7

Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan and cook to 118C.

Step 8

Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, whisk the whites on a medium speed. Slowly pour the hot sugar syrup over the frothy whites and whisk for 7 minutes, or until stiff peaks form and the bowl is cool.

Step 9

Pipe the meringue directly onto your dessert, and if you wish use a blowtorch to give it a nice golden finish.

Notes

French Meringue is the least stable of the meringue types, so it’s best used for small decorations like meringue kisses / meringue cookies (the perfect meringue topping for a special occasion cake!).

Italian Meringue is the most stable of the meringue types. It’s the perfect ‘decorating’ meringue for the outside of cakes or on top of a lemon meringue pie or a baked alaska.

Swiss Meringue is somewhere in the middle when it comes to stablity. It’s a lovely marshmallowy texture and pairs perfectly with whipped cream, so it’s the one I use for pavlovas, meringue nests, meringue cake and eton mess!