Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a meringue made the Swiss way: the egg white and sugar are warmed together over a water bath until the sugar has completely dissolved, then whipped to a thick, glossy meringue. A pinch of salt, a little cream of tartar and a splash of white vinegar keep the whites stable, so the meringue holds its shape and does not weep.
The result is dense, smooth and brilliantly white, with stiff peaks that pipe cleanly. Use it as a light frosting or filling between sponge layers, spread it over a tart or cake to be browned with a torch, or pipe it out and dry it slowly in a low oven for crisp meringue shells.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 756
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: batch of about 755 g, enough to frost a 25 cm cake or pipe one large tray of meringue shells
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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250 |
8.3 Egg Whites
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Egg White
Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks. The primary natural purpose of egg white is to protect the yolk and provide additional nutrition for the growth of the embryo (when fertilized). Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which is dissolved 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins). Unlike the yolk, which is high in lipids (fats), egg white contains almost no fat, and carbohydrate content is less than 1%. Egg whites contain just over 50% of the protein in the egg. Egg white has many uses in food (e.g. mousse) and also many other uses (e.g. in the preparation of vaccines such as those for influenza).
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at room temperature |
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B
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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C
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1 |
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Salt
Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
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D
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1 |
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Cream of Tartar
Cream of tartar, also known as potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate, is a byproduct of winemaking. It is known as cream of tartar in context with cooking. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid (a carboxylic acid).
In food, cream of tartar is used for:
- Stabilizing egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume
- Stabilizing whipped cream, maintaining its texture and volume
- Anti-caking and thickening
- Preventing sugar syrups from crystallizing
- Reducing discoloration of boiled vegetables
Additionally it is used as a component of:
- Baking powder, as an acid ingredient to activate baking soda
- Sodium-free salt substitutes, in combination with potassium chloride
A similar acid salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, can be confused with cream of tartar because of their common function as a component of baking powder.
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E
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3.5 |
0.7 teaspoon
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Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid consisting mainly of acetic acid (CH3COOH) and water. The acetic acid is produced by the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria.[1] Vinegar is now mainly used as a cooking ingredient. Historically, as the most easily available mild acid, it had a great variety of industrial, medical and domestic uses, some of which (such as its use as a general household cleanser) are still promoted today.
The term "distilled vinegar" is something of a misnomer, because it is not produced by distillation but by fermentation of distilled alcohol. The fermentate is diluted to produce a colorless solution of 5% to 8% acetic acid in water, with a pH of about 2.4. This is variously known as distilled spirit, "virgin" vinegar, or white vinegar, and is used in cooking, baking, meat preservation, and pickling, as well as for medicinal, laboratory, and cleaning purposes.
white
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755
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Make sure the mixing bowl and whisk are spotlessly clean and completely free of grease or any trace of yolk. Set a saucepan with a little water on the stove for a water bath. |
Any fat will stop the whites from whipping |
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2 |
Mix |
Put A, B, C, D and E (egg white, caster sugar, salt, cream of tartar and white vinegar) together in the mixing bowl and stir with a whisk until combined. |
A thick, grainy slurry |
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3 |
Warm |
Set the bowl over the pan of simmering water (bain marie) without the base touching the water and stir constantly until the sugar has melted completely. Rub a little between your fingers to check. |
No sugar grains felt, mixture warm to the touch and clear |
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4 |
Whip |
Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whip on high speed until the meringue is thick, white and glossy and the bowl has cooled back to room temperature. |
Stiff peaks that hold their shape on the whisk |
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5 |
Use |
Use straight away: spread or pipe onto cakes and tarts as a frosting or filling, or brown the surface lightly with a blowtorch. |
Meringue still soft and pipeable |
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6 |
Bake |
For crisp meringue shells, pipe the meringue onto a paper lined tray and dry in the oven at 100°C (210°F) for 1.5 to 2 hours, then leave in the switched off oven to cool. |
Shells lift cleanly off the paper and are dry all the way through |
Important Notes
This batch makes about 755 g of meringue, enough to cover a 25 cm cake or to pipe one large tray of shells. The sugar must be fully dissolved over the water bath before whipping, otherwise the meringue will be grainy and may weep. Whip only until the bowl feels cool, not warm. Whipped meringue is best used immediately; piped and dried shells keep for several weeks in an airtight container in a dry place, away from the fridge.
Tools & Arrangements
Electric mixer with whisk attachment, heatproof mixing bowl, saucepan for the water bath, hand whisk, rubber spatula, piping bag and nozzle, baking trays and baking paper, blowtorch if browning the surface.
