Crunchy meringue for number cake
Crisp, melt-in-your-mouth, to munch on with a cup of coffee or to decorate your cakes, meringue is a little sweet that we all love, whether we’re young or old. A traditional meringue recipe that’s easy and quick to make. You can make them in all shapes and colors, and even flavour them.
I love making them, especially small ones to decorate my entremets, number cakes, drip cakes and also to nibble on with a cup of coffee. A very easy recipe requiring only 2 ingredients, sugar and egg whites. Meringues in lollipops or sachets will be very popular for a birthday party. 
With this French meringue, you can make a pavlova, a dessert with a crunchy meringue base, topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruit. You can also make a vacherin or the Belgian dessert “le Merveilleux,” as well as many other pastries.
You can also use it on a lemon tart or the lemon meringue bavarois.
I think I’m not the only one to find that meringue, whether French, Italian or Swiss, is indispensable in pastry-making. In fact, it is used in the preparation of many pastries.
We use Swiss meringue to lighten a buttercream, mousse, etc… the same goes for Italian meringue.
The 3 meringues can be used to decorate a lemon tart, for example. Most people find French meringue the easiest to make.
Indeed, for the Italian and Swiss meringues, you need a thermometer to make the syrup for the Italian version and to monitor the temperature of the egg whites and sugar over a bain-marie for the Swiss version.
Tips for an easy French meringue
Table of Contents
This recipe is really easy to make, but here’s what you need to remember.
| Always use double the weight of egg whites in sugar. You can use caster sugar instead of powdered sugar. In this case, add it in two small batches, as I did in the video, before the powdered sugar. Beat well to obtain a firm meringue. |
Use eggs at room temperature but not aged as recommended for macaroons. By the way, even for macarons, I sometimes use egg whites that are not aged, but they must have been taken out of the refrigerator the day before I never fail them, and it’s the same for meringue.
The importance of oven temperature is essential for meringue baking. You should bake meringues at a low temperature, no higher than 120°C (250°F). The ideal temperature is between 90°C and 100°C (194°F and 212°F). The lower the temperature, the whiter the meringues will be. In fact, we don’t try to bake the meringues, just dry them.
To prevent the meringue from cracking on top, it’s important to let the steam escape from the oven, just like the advice for successfully making macarons. Open the oven door once or twice to let the steam escape. Close immediately.
Add the caster sugar in several as I explain in the process below. The powdered sugar should be added gently at the end, without overworking the meringue. You can use caster sugar only. The meringue will be just as successful.
Simply replace the powdered sugar with caster sugar. If you’re using caster sugar only, you’ll need to add it a little at a time until it’s all incorporated. The result is a smooth, shiny bird’s beak meringue.
The recipe on video
Ingredients:
NB: You’ll find the printable recipe card at the end of the article.
- 150 g (5.3 oz) room-temperature egg whites
- 150 g (5.3 oz) granulated sugar
- 150 g ( 5.3 oz) powdered sugar, sifted
- Gel food coloring
- Gel flavouring if you wish to flavour the meringue
Preparation steps
1. Whip egg whites for 5 minutes at medium speed. Then gradually add half the caster sugar (75g /2.65 oz) ) while continuing to whisk.
2. Whisk for 3 minutes after incorporating this first portion, then gradually add the remaining sugar.
3. Whip for a further 3 to 5 minutes until the meringue is firm. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, lowering the speed of the stand mixer to prevent it from flying away.
Note: If you’re worried about the meringue falling over in the stand mixer, you can gently fold in the powdered sugar with a skimmer or maryse, without overworking the mixture.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to bring the powdered sugar down to the center. Whisk for another 1 minute. The result is a very firm meringue with a bird’s beak.
5. Divide the meringue among several bowls if you wish to color it.
6. Add a small amount of gel food coloring of your choice, then mix gently until you achieve an even color.
7. Use the piping tips suited for the design you want to create. I used Wilton’s 1M tip to form roses and a PF tip for petit fours.
8. Preheat oven to 100°C ( 212°F). For very white meringues, you can set it to 90°C (194°F).
9. Fill piping bags with meringue.
10. For a bicolor effect, draw stripes of gel food coloring inside the piping bag, then fill it with meringue.
11. Place a sheet of baking parchment on a baking tray, applying a small amount of meringue to make it stick.
12. Pipe roses, gently pressing to remove the tip, or create small rosettes or other shapes as desired.
13. Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours at 100°C (212°F), or 1.5 to 2.5 hours at 90°C (194°F). The aim is to dry the meringues, not bake them.
14. Open the oven slightly at least 3 times during baking to release steam and prevent the meringues from cracking.
15. Remove them from the oven once they are completely dry and easily come off the baking sheet.
Key points to remember about meringue baking:
- The meringues should not brown or change color.
- You can put two baking sheets in the oven at the same time.
- Keep the remaining piped meringue on the countertop until you’re ready to put it in the oven.
- The goal is to dry the meringues, not to bake them, so feel free to lower the temperature for a slow bake without the risk of coloring.
Easy Meringue Recipe
Matériel :
Ingredients :
- 150 g (5.3 oz) room-temperature egg whites
- 150 g (5.3 oz )granulated sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) powdered sugar, sifted
- Gel food coloring
- Gel flavouring if you wish to flavour the meringue
Instructions :
- Whip egg whites for 5 minutes at medium speed. Then gradually add half the caster sugar (75g /2.65 oz) ) while continuing to whisk.
- Whisk for 3 minutes after incorporating this first portion, then gradually add the remaining sugar.
- Whip for a further 3 to 5 minutes until the meringue is firm. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, lowering the speed of the stand mixer to prevent it from flying away.
- Note: If you're worried about the meringue falling over in the stand mixer, you can gently fold in the powdered sugar with a skimmer or maryse, without overworking the mixture.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl to bring the powdered sugar down to the center. Whisk for another 1 minute. The result is a very firm meringue with a bird's beak.
- Divide the meringue among several bowls if you wish to color it.
- Add a small amount of gel food coloring of your choice, then mix gently until you achieve an even color.
- Use the piping tips suited for the design you want to create. I used Wilton's 1M tip to form roses and a PF tip for petit fours.
- Preheat oven to 100°C ( 212°F). For very white meringues, you can set it to 90°C (194°F).
- Fill piping bags with meringue.
- For a bicolor effect, draw stripes of gel food coloring inside the piping bag, then fill it with meringue.
- Place a sheet of baking parchment on a baking tray, applying a small amount of meringue to make it stick.
- Pipe roses, gently pressing to remove the tip, or create small rosettes or other shapes as desired.
- Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours at 100°C (212°F), or 1.5 to 2.5 hours at 90°C (194°F). The aim is to dry the meringues, not bake them.
- Open the oven slightly at least 3 times during baking to release steam and prevent the meringues from cracking.
- Remove them from the oven once they are completely dry and easily come off the baking sheet.
Notes
Key points to remember about meringue baking:
- The meringues should not brown or change color.
- You can put two baking sheets in the oven at the same time.
- Keep the remaining piped meringue on the countertop until you're ready to put it in the oven.
- The goal is to dry the meringues, not to bake them, so feel free to lower the temperature for a slow bake without the risk of coloring.
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