Easy Homemade Meringue
I have long planned to work on the meringue recipe, especially after the numerous questions about the use of egg whites. Although it seems a pretty obvious recipe, there are some small details that matter for a perfect result.
You can replace the powdered sugar with plain sugar, but you'll have more work to do and you won't get the perfectly glossy meringue very quickly. Also, you may not get it right from the first time because of the temperature in the oven. You might need several tries until you see how the perfect meringue reconciles with your oven, at least this is what happened to me.
In conclusion, it's worth all the effort. They are the simplest sweets, with no fat nor flour, very airy, they just melt in your mouth. You can add any flavors, colors, hazelnuts or chopped walnuts.
This recipe uses three egg whites (about 100g) and you'll have an oven sheet full of meringues. It's better to prepare several batches if you want more, because the meringue already mixed must be put in the oven right away, later it will lose its texture.
First, weigh and prepare the sugar. I ground the plain sugar in the coffee grinder.
Rub half a lemon on the inside of the bowl in which you will make the meringue.
Separate the eggs and place the egg whites in this bowl, add salt.
We have the sugar ready too, so we can start beating.
We start to mix the egg whites (no sugar, only salt).
Notice the foam starting to form.
The foam keeps growing, but we still don't add any sugar yet.
When we have beaten the egg whites to firm peaks - see the picture - turn the bowl upside down. The meringue doesn't run and it stays firm. This is when we start to add sugar.
We don't add all the sugar at once. We add a spoonful at a time and mix well after each one for about half a minute.
After you've added all the sugar, continue mixing.
Stop periodically and rub the meringue between your fingers. If it still feels grainy, keep mixing.
Whisk until the meringue is perfectly smooth and soft.
Using regular sugar, not powdered, will take longer to incorporate completely, which will increase the mixing time and the stress :)
Another indicator: when you remove the beaters, the meringue must be glossy white and stay firm.
Prepare the oven sheet. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the size of your sheet and grease the back of the corners with a bit of meringue. This way, the paper will stick well to the tray and won't slip away when you arrange the meringues.
I would even recommend dusting the parchment with a bit of flour or cornstarch. If it's poor quality paper, the meringues might stick.
Use a piping bag to shape the meringues.
Avoid making them too big or too thick, as the baking time will increase.
Bake in the electric oven for 1.5-2 hours at 70-90 degrees C. Don't open the oven door in the first half hour so that the meringues won't crack. The time may vary, depending on each oven.
Bake in the gas oven at the lowest temperature setting with the door ajar (place a pencil in the door).
If the meringues brown too quickly, open the door and lower the temperature.
The meringues are done when they come off the paper easily.
Mine weren't perfectly white because I didn't check on them for about an hour and missed the moment when I had to turn down the temperature.
I made the meringues in the evening. After baking, I left them in the oven to dry completely until the morning.
Here you can see the small ones, perfectly dry and tender.
Here are the larger meringues. Baking time was the same, but they were firm on top yet softer and stickier inside.
See how a simple recipe has so many details to consider. Once you get used to them, it gets easier - and it's worth it :)
Enjoy!
