Meringues are very crispy, light, delicate and fat free cookies made with egg whites and sugar. No cream of tartar was used in this recipe. You can make any shape you want by using different nozzles. They are a perfect thing to make if you’ve got some leftover egg whites

Here you will learn how to make perfect meringue with all tips and tricks.

Ingredients for Meringue

• Egg whites: Fresh eggs are best for making meringue. Eggs should be at room temperature.
• Sugar: You can’t make meringue without sugar.
• Salt: Just to add flavour. It also balances the sweetness
• Lemon juice: Because no cream of tartar is used in this recipe. I used lemon juice instead. Lemon juice is acidic that stabilises the egg white. The general rule of thumb is to use 1/2 tsp lemon juice for every egg white in the recipe.

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How to make Meringue

1. Preheat oven (fan) to 90*C/200*F.
2. Wipe your bowl and whisk with lemon juice.
3. Add in egg whites, a pinch of salt and lemon juice, whisk them on low speed until soft peak forms (about 1-2 minutes)
4. Slowly add the sugar about 1 tsp at a time snd beat well after each addition (at least 30 seconds after each addition), until all the sugar is incorporated, the sugar should be completely dissolved and the mixture should not be gritty if you rub it between your fingers, beat again if it is gritty at medium speed until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form (this process will take about 5-8 minutes).
5. Add small dollops of meringue to the corners of your baking sheet and press the parchment paper down.
6. Fill the piping bag. I used 4B open star nozzle, pipe on the baking sheets, squeeze the piping bag while it is about 1/2 an inch above the paper then lift as you stop squeezing to finish the meringue.
7. Bake at 90*C /200F fan oven in the lower part of the oven for about 40-50 minutes or until they are dry and easily lifted from the baking paper with their bases intact and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven for at least one hour or overnight (don’t open the door).
8. Transfer them to an airtight container to keep them crispy, they will last up to two weeks at room temperature.
   

Recipe Tips and Tricks for making the perfect Meringue

1. Use the fresh eggs: Use fresh egg whites for best results. In the egg whites proteins are tightly folded. Although fresh egg whites take more time to whip into a foam due to tightly folded proteins but that foam remains more stable with small and strong bubbles. On the other hand, older egg whites take less time to whip into a foam with greater volume but that foam is less stable with larger bubbles and can collapse easily. Fresh egg whites are more acidic and create more stable foam that can collapse easily.

2. Use room temperature eggs: Egg whites should be at room temperature for the best results.

3.Separate each egg white in a separate bowl: Crack each egg white in a separate bowl before adding into a mixing bowl because a tiny bit of yolk would ruin the whole batch of egg whites.

4. Use a clean bowl and beater whisk: Wipe your mixing bowl and whisk with lemon juice in the beginning to make sure that the bowl and the whisk are completely clean and grease free. Even a little bit of grease can ruin the texture of the meringue.

5. Don’t reduce the amount of sugar.

Ratio between sugar and egg whites should be 2:1 Sugar keeps the meringues crispy because sugar draws out the water of the egg whites trapping it in the air bubbles. During baking, this water evaporates and in turn creating a crispy baked meringues. If enough sugar is not added to the egg whites, foam will not be stable enough and enough moisture will not evaporate resulting into soggy meringues.

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6. Don’t add sugar too soon and add the sugar gradually. Whisk the egg whites first until soft peak forms then add sugar gradually about 1 tsp at a time and whisk well after each addition (at least 30 seconds after each addition).

While beating, proteins in the egg whites take time to unfold properly and form the foam so if you add sugar too soon, you won’t get a thick and stable meringue.

If you add sugar too quickly during whisking, protein in the egg whites unable to bond strongly resulting in a softer meringue mixture that will not hold its shape.

7. Whisk on medium speed and don’t over whisk the mixture:

If you whisk on high speed, foam will form quickly but the air bubbles will be less uniform and hard to shape. Whisk your mixture on medium speed, although it’s time taking but always makes lots of tiny, uniform bubbles and easy to shape. Avoid over whisking: whisk until the sugar just dissolved.

8. Bake the meringue as soon as it’s done:

You can make any shape of your choice by using any nozzle. Pipe your meringue as soon as it’s done otherwise meringue will split and loose consistency.

9. Be careful about baking temperature and time of meringues:

Every oven works differently, bake them accordingly.If your meringues have a slight tint after baking, decrease the oven temperature slightly and increase baking time. I usually bake them at 90C(fan oven) and they turn out white.

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10. To avoid cracks in the meringue:

Leave them in the oven after baking for at least one hour (don’t open the door) to cool them completely as sudden change in temperature will cause cracks in them.

Few meringues with little bit of cracks are completely normal. There shouldn’t be too many cracks or big cracks in your meringue.

11. Check the humidity:

Meringues readily absorbs moisture from the air after baking. Due to humidity, they become soft and sticky. As soon as the meringue is cool, transfer them to an airtight container to keep them fresh and crispy ad moisture will make them soggy. Store in a cool and dry place.

Recipes to use meringues in?

There are many options to use them;

• Eton Mess: It’s a classic dessert. Basic meringues can be used in this dessert.
• Pavlova
• Cookies: You can make chocolate chip meringue cookies.
• Pies: Meringues are used to decorate cakes. You can also make lemon meringue cake.
• You can also make Baked Alaska

Happy Baking!