How to make meringues

Crisp, melt-in-your-mouth meringues are easy to make. All you need is patience, time and these essential tips.

How to make meringues

MAKES about 20

INGREDIENTS

• 3 egg whites
• 100g castor sugar
• 15ml cornflour

METHOD

PREHEAT the oven to 100°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

WHIP egg whites in a glass bowl with an electric mixer until very stiff – you should be able to hold the bowl over your head without anything falling out. Gradually sprinkle in the castor sugar while whipping, then mix in the cornflour. Mix for 2 minutes to help the sugar dissolve.

SPOON the mixture into a piping bag and pipe out desired shapes, or spoon the mixture directly onto the prepared baking tray.

BAKE for about 1-2 hours (depending on the size of your meringues), then turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven, undisturbed. The meringues are done when they are crisp but still white in colour, and are completely dried through when broken open.

 

COOK’S TIPS

• To successfully whip the egg whites, the utensils you are using must be spotlessly clean, very dry and grease-free. Preferably use stainless steel and glass bowls.
• Make sure that you are not going to use your oven for anything else, as the meringues need to cool undisturbed in the switched-off oven.
• Use fresh eggs as these will be easier to separate.
• Separate the eggs in a different bowl to avoid any mistakes.
• For hard meringues the proportion of sugar and egg white is always 60ml for every egg white. For soft meringues it is 30ml sugar for every egg white.
• Meringues can be dipped into chocolate or a few drops of food colouring can be added to change their colour.

 

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