How to cook meringues and meringues correctly

French meringue cake (meringue) can be fragile and crumbly, tender and melting in the mouth, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside - it is no coincidence that the French dubbed this airy dessert “kiss”, emphasizing its sweetness and sophistication. Meringue is a protein cake, and meringue is a protein cream from which meringues are made or which is used as a filling for confectionery products. Due to the fact that meringue contains a small amount of ingredients, it seems that it is quite simple to prepare, but meringue is a capricious dessert that sometimes behaves unpredictably. Not every cook (especially a beginner) understands how to properly prepare meringues and meringues, so it’s worth first mastering a few techniques that will help you get a real French dessert without any drawbacks.

Cooking meringues at home: the subtleties of French culinary art

Let's talk about how to bake meringue at home, which recipe to choose and how to achieve perfection in the art of making protein dough, which must be airy, foamy, light and immediately dense, plastic and perfectly retains its shape. Knowing the secrets of making meringue, you will get beautiful and delicious airy cakes and other desserts from egg whites whipped with sugar and baked in the oven.

French, Italian and Swiss method of making meringue

There are three methods for making meringue - French, Italian and Swiss. The French prepare the protein mass very simply - beat the whites with a pinch of salt, evenly adding sweet powder until it holds its shape perfectly. Meringues prepared according to the French recipe turn out to be tender and airy, but they are only suitable for regular-shaped cakes, since luxurious and ornate roses can blur and lose their unique appearance.

Instead of sugar, Italians add thick and hot sweet syrup to the protein mass, pouring it in a narrow stream and not stopping whipping for a single moment. The soft and tasty cream, which turns out slightly custard due to the hot syrup, is used to coat cakes, fill tubes and eclairs. The cream is simply mixed with butter to add new colors of flavor, unlike French meringue, which, when combined with fats, immediately loses its shape.

The most masterly meringue is prepared according to a Swiss recipe, as it is made in a water bath - and the mass increases in volume a couple of times. The thick and elastic mass produces fancy cookies and ornate cream patterns on cakes that do not spread and look very beautiful.

The subtleties of making the perfect meringue

The utensils and kitchen utensils that you will use to beat egg whites must be completely clean and free of grease. The fact is that fat aggravates the properties of the protein dough and prevents the meringue from maintaining its shape, so before cooking you should pour boiling water over the dishes with the addition of lemon juice.

Almost all chefs advise eating only very fresh eggs, which is completely understandable if you are going to create a protein cream, in other words, eat proteins without heat treatment. To make meringues, it is better to take eggs that are a week old, since the whites become drier during egg storage and whip even more easily.

For meringue, it is better to use warm, rather than chilled, whites, the temperature of which is 22–25 °C. Cool whites whip faster, but the mass comes out the least large, the most dense and unbalanced during baking. Warm whites give a fluffy airy mass with a stable texture, as a result of which the products rise well in the oven, bake perfectly and keep their shape.

Try to take not sugar, but sweet powder, since the finer the grains, the better the protein mass is whipped, making it the most gentle and light, and not completely dissolved sugar can squeak on the teeth, which is not always pleasant when tasting dessert.

At the very beginning, the speed of whipping the whites should be leisurely in order to saturate the mass with oxygen, and when foam with bubbles appears, the speed can be created at its highest.

Add sugar evenly - 1 tsp at a time. at regular intervals. If you add sugar right away, the meringues will settle after baking. Please be patient so that the result meets your expectations!

To get a crispy meringue, beat the egg whites until they reach sharp peaks - when the mixture stretches behind the whisk, forming beak-like angles. If the protein cream forms round elevations on the rim that fall evenly, then you are dealing with soft peaks, ideal for making delicate cakes or biscuits.

Old cookbooks give advice to add a pinch of salt to the whites first, and at the end - a few drops of lemon juice to form a fluffy and large mass. With the advent of modern mixers and blenders, the need to add these products has disappeared, so you can get rid of them. If the recipe calls for adding flour and starch to the protein mass, sift them to saturate them with air so that the dough does not lose its airiness.

It is better to bake meringue on pastry paper at a temperature of 80–110 °C for 1–2 hours. For this reason, the French jokingly call meringues “forgotten cookies,” just try not to forget about your own dessert so that it does not become too dry. The finished cakes should be crispy, without a black crust, and if you prefer the most delicate and soft meringues, bake them at a temperature of 150 ° C until yellow. You can bake the meringue for a couple of minutes at a temperature of 200°C, and then reduce the heat to 100°C and bake for another half hour.

Do not open the oven while the meringues are baking, otherwise they will fall off and turn into flat cakes. It is better to inspect the products for readiness after they have cooled, since a warm cake inside may seem damp. Do not store meringues in the refrigerator so that they do not gain moisture!

Based on meringue, you can prepare a huge number of wonderful confectionery products with the addition of chocolate, marmalade, jelly, coffee, fruits, berries, curd cheeses, milk, whipped cream, nuts and spices. Meringue is poured with chocolate glaze, served with ice cream, marshmallows, vanilla, butter or butter cream, used as a filling for pancakes and sweet sandwiches, cakes and small petit fours. Meringue cakes are like light clouds that melt in your mouth, leaving a delicately sweet aftertaste that you want to experience again and again. Prepare airy meringues and enjoy wonderful French desserts!

3 methods to prepare the most delicious meringue at home

All the secrets and detailed descriptions of making them in the oven, microwave and slow cooker.

7 secrets to perfect meringues you need to know

Meringue recipes look simple: you need to beat egg whites with sweet powder and from time to time lemon juice. But for a truly airy dessert to come out, everything must be done correctly.

The eggs for the meringue should not be the freshest, but approximately a week old. The whites of such eggs whip better.
Separate the whites from the yolks very carefully. If even a small amount of yolk gets into the protein mass, it simply won’t beat.
It is necessary to separate the whites from the yolks immediately after you remove the eggs from the refrigerator. But before whipping, the whites should stand at room temperature for half an hour. Thanks to this, the base for the meringue will be the most airy.
Beat the egg whites in an unsealed, dry container. The mixer attachments should be the same. Even a drop of water or fat will prevent you from whipping the egg whites into a foam. To be on the safe side, you can wipe the dishes with lemon juice beforehand and then with a cardboard towel.
Do not use sugar, but sweet powder. If you don’t have it, you can grind regular sugar in a coffee grinder. The protein mass is whipped better specifically with powder. In addition, grains of sugar may remain in the meringue, which means the dessert will not be as smooth.
Sweet powder must be added after you beat the whites into a foam, and not before. It must be added in portions, approximately a teaspoon at a time, while continuing to beat the egg mass.
Lemon juice is added at the end so that the mass does not lose volume. Based on the calculation of ½ teaspoon of juice per 1 egg white. But if you have a fairly powerful mixer that has already whipped the whites into a stable foam, you don’t need to add juice. In any case, it will not harm the finished dessert in any way.

How to cook meringue in the oven

This is a traditional method that ensures the meringue comes out fluffy and beautiful.

Ingredients

3 egg whites;
180 g sweet powder.

What else can you add to meringue?

The taste and appearance of traditional meringue can be varied:

vanillin;
cinnamon;
food extracts or flavors (vanilla, almond, mint, fruit, and so on);
food coloring (gel coloring will make the meringue the most shiny, and powder coloring will make it matte);
chopped nuts;
cocoa;
coconut flakes.

They are added to the protein mass at the end of production.

But be careful. Oils (such as those found in nuts) and water can interfere with foam formation. Therefore, it is better to add just a little bit than to overdo it and spoil the meringue.

If you wish to add food flavorings, do not under any circumstances use any that contain alcohol. It will also prevent the squirrels from rising.

Manufacturing

Separate the whites from the yolks. Beat the whites with a mixer at low speed for about 30 seconds at first. When the whites just begin to foam, increase the speed to medium and beat until a thick, snow-white foam forms.

Then add sweet powder evenly. Turn off the mixer and stir the meringue base with a spoon, scraping up any egg whites that have splattered during the beating process.

After this, beat for a couple more minutes at high speed. You should get a thick foam of a homogeneous mixture. Surprisingly, you can check the readiness of the meringue base by lifting the container with it upside down: the protein mass must remain in place.

Place the finished base in a cooking bag. It is possible to get by with an ordinary spoon, but the dessert will not be as wonderful.

Preheat oven to 100°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form the meringue onto it.

Place the baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack for 1-1.5 hours. The production time depends on the size of the meringue: the smaller they are, the faster they will be ready. For very large meringues it will take about 2 hours.

Do not open the oven during cooking. Due to temperature changes, the meringue may crack. The finished meringue should simply separate from the parchment.

After cooking, turn off the oven, open the door slightly and leave the meringue inside until completely cooled for several hours.

How to cook meringue in a slow cooker

Meringue from a slow cooker is no different from meringue from the oven. This manufacturing method is suitable, for example, in this case if you are not able to use an oven.

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The proportions of ingredients and the method of making the meringue base also do not differ from the traditional recipe. But keep in mind that you will have to prepare the meringue in batches or reduce the amount of ingredients by 2-3 times.

Manufacturing

Place parchment paper or foil on the bottom of the multicooker. Form a meringue on it using a spoon or a cooking bag at a small distance from each other.

Turn on the "Bake" mode and cook with the lid open for 1 hour 20 minutes. The meringue will not dry out if the lid is closed. After making, leave the meringue in the slow cooker with the lid open until it cools completely.

How to cook meringue in the microwave

This meringue will not be as airy as a dessert from the oven or slow cooker. In the microwave, the meringue warms up from the inside, so after production it quickly settles.

The advantage of this method is that it doesn’t take you long at all. And the meringue will be the crispiest.

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The amount of ingredients and method of making the meringue base differ from the traditional recipe.

Ingredients

1 egg white;
150 g sweet powder.

Manufacturing

Separate the white from the yolk. Mix egg white and sweet powder. You can create this using a mixer, or you can use a whisk or an ordinary spoon. You will get a thick dough that can be kneaded by hand.

How and how long to store meringues

Meringue does not tolerate moisture well, so it will become soggy in the refrigerator. It should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

By the way, meringue can be made even without eggs. To do this, use aquafaba - the liquid from boiled legumes, which is whipped into a fluffy foam. You will find a detailed recipe for this unusual meringue at the end of this article for us:

French, Italian and Swiss meringue - how to prepare and what is the difference between them

There are three main types of meringue. They are all prepared according to different recipes and for different purposes. So what is the difference between French, Italian and Swiss meringue? And which one should be used in any given dessert? Let's talk about it.

French meringue

French meringue is the most traditional and most common of the above. It is crispy on the outside and a little soft or dry on the inside. The whipped mass quickly settles, so it must be prepared just before use, in other words, baking in the oven.

How to make French meringue

Proteins and sugar (from time to time sweet powder) will be useful for you. Typically, the working proportion is 2 parts sugar to 1 part protein. For example, if you use 100 g of protein, you will need 200 g of sugar.

To make French meringue, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar evenly, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. The mixture should become soft, airy and light.

You can pipe the resulting mass using a pastry bag or spoon. Form the meringues on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in an oven preheated to 90-100 °C for 1-2 hours, depending on the size of the product and the desired result. The meringues are ready when you simply remove them from the baking paper.

How to use French meringue

If two ready-made French meringues, piped from a pastry bag, are combined with each other, layered with cream or something similar, you get meringue . So says the distinguished publication Gastronomic Encyclopedia Larousse Gastronomique.

Meringue with chocolate cream

French meringue is best used for Alaska and Pavlova cakes, the English dessert Eton mess and for making dessert snowballs . After mixing with chopped nuts (usually almonds or hazelnuts), a base for dacquoise (nut sponge cake) .

Pavlova cake “Pear and chocolate”

Italian meringue

Italian meringue is the most measured and dense of the three. Thanks to its satin texture, it is very popular among confectioners.

How to make Italian meringue

Italian meringue is a sweet syrup (a “thick thread” mixture), heated to 118-120 °C and, still practically bubbling, added in a narrow stream to the whipped egg whites. The mixture must be constantly whisked until it cools almost completely. To make the best Italian meringue, be sure to use a kitchen temperature gauge.

Italian meringue is deposited onto a sponge cake from a pastry bag

The basic ratio for syrup is 3 parts sugar and 1 part water. Basic meringue recipe: 30-50 g of syrup for 1 large egg white.

How to use Italian meringue

This kind of meringue, in comparison with the French one, is not consumed without the help of others (as a ready-made dish) and it is needed for the most complex desserts, such as, for example, Alaska cake.

It is used to cover tarts, flans, and Polish brioche before being put into the oven. Add to mousses and souffles, and later freeze. Creams, sorbet and various berry and fruit foams are prepared on the basis of Italian meringue. And specifically, it covers lemon pies (or similar products), and later it is so beautifully fired with a special burner.

Key lime tartlet with meringue

Swiss meringue

The development of making Swiss meringue differs from others. A water bath and a kitchen temperature gauge are indispensable for her. The raw whipped mass is even smaller in size than the French one. It is the most compact, smooth and silky. After heat treatment, it is crispy on the outside and “chewy” (sticky and slightly stretchy) on the inside.

How to make Swiss meringue

Typically, the working proportion for making Swiss meringue is 2 parts sugar to 1 part protein. For example, if you use 90 g of protein, you will need 180 g of sugar. Beat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl in a water bath at 40°C to 55-60°C. Then remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking until the mixture cools. Bake at 100 °C, 30 minutes for the smallest forms.

Swiss meringue is often flavored by adding, for example, vanilla or lemon zest. Natural additives must be introduced after heat treatment.

Huge Swiss meringues with nuts

How to use Swiss meringue

Huge meringues, approximately the size of a palm, which you often see in the windows of pastry shops - this is Swiss meringue. It is also often used to decorate Christmas rolls (“log”).

Swiss meringue holds its shape perfectly and the finished products are spectacular and embossed. After some time, the surface of the meringue becomes a little denser, but the mass inside remains the same airy. This can be used to decorate baked goods, for example, Easter cakes, muffins, cupcakes. Swiss meringue can also be used as a cream for layering biscuits.

Pumpkin pie with Swiss (wet) meringue from Olga Stikhareva