This classic Italian meringue recipe makes a lovely and light meringue with a bit of chewiness. Or super soft Italian style. They’re not really as daunting as you might think.
The trick really is to warm your sugar and to use cream of tartar. A clean bowl is super necessary. And whisk whisk whisk!
You will need:
Ingredients
Method
Put the water and sugar into the sauce pan. Put on a medium heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Then stop stirring. Run a pastry brush that has been dipped in water around the sugar line to stop crystals from forming. Pop the sugar thermometer in and bring up to 121 degrees Celsius.
Whilst you are waiting for this to happen, pop your egg whites and the cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high for around 8 minutes or until soft peaks start to form. Drop down to low and slowly pour the syrup slowly into the egg whites, whisking all the time. After you have poured in all the sugar syrup, move the speed to medium and continue whisking until the bowl feels like room temperature again. Your egg whites should be thick and glossy and stay in whatever shape you like.
Just a quick side note – this is the point where you can add flavours if you wish. Lemon, orange blossom, vanilla.
Put your favourite nozzle in to the bottom of your piping bag and fill the whole thing with your meringue. You are now ready to pipe onto tarts. To toast it, set your blow torch of and gently let the flame lick over the top. Do not hold it in one place for too long or you’ll end up with just black areas. You want it to look golden brown. As my Grandma used to say; ‘when its brown it’s done, if it’s burnt it’s buggered’.
