Perfect Meringues
The Italians choose to use a hot sugar syrup, while the French stick to cold sugar; this recipe is halfway 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 because 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.
Ingredients
- 300g caster sugar
- 5 large egg whites
Method
- 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 minutes until you see the edges start to melt slightly.
- While the sugar is heating, whisk the egg whites slowly at first, speeding up in the last two minutes until stiff peaks.
- Once the sugar is heated, remove it 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 is smooth.
- 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 minutes, 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.
- 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.