A lot of people have been asking me for this one. I'm always so shocked how much people like my meringues because they are the most simplest things ever and yet people still rave over them. During the heat wave, I decided to make a joke video where I baked meringues on the dash of my car parked outside. They surprisingly turned out very well, and since then, many people have asked me to drop a tutorial for them (baked normally, not in a vehicle). So, here it is!
Step 1: Separate egg whites and yolks
Preheat your oven to 175°F or 80°C. Separate some egg whites into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. In my experience, you have to use real egg whites for meringues. Egg whites from the carton just don't hold as well, especially in small batches. Put the egg yolks aside and you can keep them for custard or if you're like me, for an omelette haha. The ratio of egg white to granulated sugar I use is 1:2. So I'm not going to give an exact measurement. Just make sure to weigh it and that your sugar weighs twice as much as your egg whites. This way, you can make small batches or large batches, whatever you desire. I will say however, that the minimum is 100 grams of egg whites and 200 grams of sugar in a regular 4.5 quart bowl. If you go any less than this, the meringue will not hold. So go ahead and add the sugar to your mixing bowl on top of the egg whites. I would highly recommend using a stand mixer, as this mixes for a long time.
Step 2: Double Boil the Mixture
Before using the stand mixer, whisk the egg whites and sugar over a pot of boiling water. You're going to whisk continuously so that the mixture doesn't cook onto the bowl. Using a kitchen thermometer, check the temperature of the mixture. You want this to be 160°F or 71°C. Once it reaches that, immediately transfer the bowl to your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix this on high until the bowl is not hot anymore. In my experience, this can take 15 minutes. You want stiff peaks!
Step 3: Transfer Mixture to Pipping Bag
If you're just beginning, I would suggest sticking to white colour and no flavour. If you want to make the meringues different colours or add extracts, you can do so now, but I recommend mixing it more to ensure you still have super stiff peaks. Now, transfer the mixture into pipping bags with tips of your choice. My favourite are star tips. Pipe drops onto some parchment paper. Keep them uniform so that they bake evenly. You don't have to worry about leaving space between them, these do not expand. Once your oven is at 175°F or 80°C, you can throw them in! These bake low and slow. Keep them in for 45-60 mins. You can check up on them after this time. They should remove very easily from the parchment, leaving no residue behind. I also like to take one out and leave it at room temperature. Once it cools down, I bite into it to see if there's that perfect crunch. If not, leave them in for a little longer! After that, shut off the oven. I leave them in there overnight to dry up and package them the next morning.
And there you have it! The perfect meringues :) I like to put meringues onto my cakes as decoration. It just adds to the cake design! You can also sell them individually. OR, you can keep them all to yourself and eat them. Let me know if it works for you!
Comments