The basic Italian meringue, also known as "meringa italiana" or "boiled meringue," is a versatile and delicious confection used to make meringues, frost cakes, pies, and other desserts. It is characterized by its light, fluffy texture and delicate, sweet flavor. Creating a perfect basic Italian meringue requires attention to detail, precise temperature control, and a good understanding of the process. This article will guide you through the steps to prepare a successful basic Italian meringue, providing tips and tricks to achieve consistent and satisfactory results each time.
Here are our top 8 tried and tested recipes!
BASIC ITALIAN MERINGUE
Italian meringue's unwavering stability allows the resulting desserts to be finished in the oven, frozen, or torched to dramatic effect. Use this to make our Lemon Meringue Semifreddi and Neapolitan Baked Alaskas.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes
Yield Makes 2 cups
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook, undisturbed, until syrup registers 248 degrees on a candy thermometer.
- Meanwhile, whisk whites with a mixer on low speed until foamy. Add salt and cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium, and whisk until soft peaks form, about 8 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low, and pour hot syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Increase speed to high, and beat until mixture stops steaming, about 3 minutes. Use immediately.
BASIC ITALIAN MERINGUE RECIPE
Steps:
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Heat over high heat, stirring only until it comes to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, stop stirring. Cook until sugar syrup registers 240°F (115°C) on an instant-read or candy thermometer. Brush down sides of pot as necessary with a pastry brush dipped in water.
- Meanwhile, combine egg whites and cream of tartar or lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (see note). Set mixer to medium speed and mix until soft peaks form (when lifted, the head of the mixer should form gentle peaks in the egg whites that very slowly collapse back into themselves), about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer running, carefully and slowly drizzle in hot sugar syrup. (Hot sugar is just as dangerous as fryer oil, so use caution!) Increase speed to high and whip until desired stiffness is achieved. Soft peaks are often used to aerate mousses, for example, while a stiff peak is best for buttercream.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 132 kcal, Carbohydrate 25 g, Cholesterol 93 mg, Fiber 0 g, Protein 3 g, SaturatedFat 1 g, Sodium 36 mg, Sugar 25 g, Fat 2 g, ServingSize Makes about 4 cups meringue, UnsaturatedFat 0 g
GOOD MERINGUE
Egg whites beaten with cream of tartar, then sugar until those famous stiff peaks form...golly, that's good meringue! A nice, basic recipe.
Provided by sal
Categories Desserts Frostings and Icings
Time 15m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 78.8 calories, Carbohydrate 18.9 g, Protein 1.4 g, Sodium 20.8 mg, Sugar 18.8 g
ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
Everyone thinks that I got the cake from a professional bakery when I use this buttercream. It is fluffy and not too sweet, perfect for wedding cakes or layered with pound cake and fruit preserves. Tightly-wrapped, it can be frozen for a month or two. Makes enough to frost an 8-inch layer cake.
Provided by Emo G.
Categories Desserts Frostings and Icings Buttercream
Time 30m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Pour egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook until syrup reads 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when placed on a flat surface.
- Increase mixer speed to high and pour syrup in a slow and steady stream down the side of the bowl, beating until meringue is no longer steaming, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in butter one cube at a time until buttercream reaches a soft and spreadable consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 359.8 calories, Carbohydrate 21.1 g, Cholesterol 81.3 mg, Fat 30.7 g, Protein 1.8 g, SaturatedFat 19.4 g, Sodium 27.7 mg, Sugar 21 g
ITALIAN MERINGUE
Steps:
- In a small pot over low heat, combine sugar and water. Swirl the pot over the burner to dissolve the sugar completely. Do not stir. Increase the heat and boil to soft-ball stage (235 to 240 degrees). Use a candy thermometer for accuracy. Wash down the inside wall of the pot with a wet pastry brush. This will help prevent sugar crystals from forming around the sides, falling in and causing a chain reaction. Prepare your meringue.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the eggs whites on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium, and beat until soft peaks form.
- With the mixer running, pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over fluffed egg whites. Beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Spread the meringue over a hot cake or pie, and bake as directed.
- For Meringue Cloud Cookies: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Dollop spoonfuls of meringue onto baking pans, alternatively you may use a pastry bag with a star tip. Bake for 2 hours until crisp. Turn off the oven and allow meringues to cool and completely dry out.
ITALIAN MERINGUE
This is the meringue recipe that came with my stand mixer. It is a Wolfgang Puck recipe, that has worked very well for me. This will make one HUGE "mile high" pie, or two 9" regular pies. It sets up perfectly and never weeps. Oh, it is also great for Baked Alaska!!
Provided by SkinnyMinnie
Categories Pie
Time 20m
Yield 1 mile high pie
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with the wire whisk attached. Make sure the bowl is dry and clean.
- In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, heat the sugar and water to 210º.
- Turn on the stand mixer to speed 3 (medium low) and start whipping the egg whites.
- When the egg whites are almost at soft peaks, add the pinch of salt.
- Continue to heat the sugar and water to 240º - this is soft ball stage.
- With the mixer STILL ON, carefully pour the hot sugar liquid into the beating egg whites. GO SLOW and be consistent - a slow steady stream.
- After all of the sugar mixture is added, increase the speed of the mixer to about 4 (medium high) and beat until the bowl is cool to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minute.
- Scrape the meringue onto the pie or pies quickly. Once the meringue sets up, it becomes hard to work with. If this happens, just put it back into the mixer and whip until stiff peaks form again.
ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
I use this creamy Italian meringue buttercream on my lemon-raspberry cupcakes. It's not as sweet as American buttercream, so it really complements the sweetness of the cupcakes. —Katelyn Craft, Stamford, New York
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 45m
Yield 4 cups.
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- In a small heavy saucepan, combine 3/4 cups sugar sugar and water. Bring to a boil; cook over medium-high heat until a thermometer reads 250° (hard-ball stage), 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer, beat egg whites in a large bowl on high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved and soft peaks form. , Slowly pour hot sugar syrup over egg whites while beating continuously. Continue beating on high until mixture cools to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes., Gradually add butter, a few tablespoons at a time, beating on medium after each addition until smooth. Beat in vanilla.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 63 calories, Fat 6g fat (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 15mg cholesterol, Sodium 1mg sodium, Carbohydrate 3g carbohydrate (3g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 0 protein.
QUICK ITALIAN MERINGUE
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes
Yield Makes 2 cups
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook, undisturbed, until syrup registers soft-ball stage (238 degrees) on a candy thermometer.
- Meanwhile, whisk egg whites with a mixer on low speed until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla. Increase speed to medium, and whisk until soft peaks form, about 8 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low, and pour hot syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Increase speed to high, and beat until mixture stops steaming, about 3 minutes. Use immediately.
Tips:
- Use the freshest eggs possible. Older eggs will not whip up as well and may result in a grainy meringue.
- Make sure your bowl and whisk are completely clean and free of any grease or residue. Any residue can prevent the meringue from whipping up properly.
- Whip the egg whites gradually, starting on low speed and increasing to high speed as the whites begin to foam. This will help to prevent the whites from over-whipping.
- Add the sugar slowly, one tablespoon at a time. This will help to prevent the meringue from becoming grainy.
- Continue whipping the meringue until it is stiff and glossy. The peaks should be firm and hold their shape when you lift the whisk out of the bowl.
- Use the meringue immediately or store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If you are storing the meringue, be sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
Conclusion:
Italian meringue is a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of desserts, from pies and cakes to mousses and macarons. With a little practice, you can easily make a perfect Italian meringue at home. So next time you're looking for a show-stopping dessert, give Italian meringue a try!
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