Seasoned Advice
Seasoned Advice

Questions tagged [meringue]

88 questions
42
votes
2 answers

What caused my meringue to fall after adding cocoa?

I made a very nice stiff batch of meringue for meringue cookies. I piped half of the batch on the cookie sheet and they looked wonderful (or at least they were nicely stiff, and I need to practice my piping). For the second half, I wanted chocolate,…
Rosemarie Miller
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4 answers

Can raw eggs be made safe with hot sugar in an Italian meringue?

I found this recipe which features Italian meringue as topping. After preparation, the meringue is not cooked further, yet the author claims that adding the sugar syrup alones has pasteurized (i.e. killed all germs) the eggs. Can this really be…
FlyingTeller
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2 answers

Why do people recommend cream of tartar when whipping egg whites to the exclusion of all other acids?

Virtually every single egg white recipe will say add some cream of tartar to egg whites to help them whip better because the cream of tartar will lower the pH and make it more stable. But if all it's doing is making it more acidic, why exclusively…
Shalmanese
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4 answers

How can I keep meringue pie-topping from falling?

Nothin' better on a hot summer afternoon than a slice of cold pie... And nothin' says "summer" like a great big fluffy meringue topping over that slab of rhubarb/lemon/banana custard. Unfortunately, mine haven't been turning out that way. They bake…
Shog9
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12
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6 answers

How are savoury meringues made?

I've come across occasionally mentions of savoury meringues with flavours such as beetroot. How are these made? What is used as a substitute for the sugar?
Ian G
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11
votes
1 answer

Italian meringue: how to adjust sugar?

I've been having amateur pastry classes and one of the things we've done is Italian meringue. However, I found the result to be overly sweet. I am much more familiar with French and Swiss meringues, for which I've had good results with various…
Fimpellizzeri
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8
votes
3 answers

My meringue forms syrup beads on top

Every time I make a pie , topped with meringue , little beads of sugary syrup form on the top of the meringue a few hours later. Why?
Pam
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8
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2 answers

How much acid to use for stabilizing meringue?

After reading up on the proper books, I started adding some acid when beating meringues. At home, I use cream of tartar, but when I am baking at somebody else's kitchen, I am lucky if they have at least some citric acid; cream of tartar is a huge…
rumtscho
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8
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5 answers

How to minimise sugar in meringue

My wife just complained that she can't eat my meringue because they have too much sugar in them. She suggested I cook them with less sugar. However, without sugar the meringue won't work right. What is the minimum ratio of egg white to sugar…
Rincewind42
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8
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2 answers

Which meringue is safe to eat without baking?

I recently got my meringue game down and though I wouldn’t eat French meringue without baking it, I’ve seen numerous videos where it’s said that Swiss meringue is delicious straight out of the double boiler. I’ve not seen the same about Italian, but…
Matt W
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7
votes
4 answers

What does meringue powder do in butter cream icing?

I've recently been taking a Wilton cake decorating class. Part of the curriculum includes making our own buttercream icing. Many of Wilton's recipes for buttercream and like icings call for the addition of meringue powder. Other icing recipes that…
rheone
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7
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5 answers

Why do my egg whites separate after whipping?

Every time I try to whip egg whites, I seem to end up with the same problem. After a good bit of strenuous beating with the whisk, the egg whites finally reach the "firm peak" stage. I then go grab something (last night, it was the chili peppers to…
Ray
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7
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2 answers

How can I get Italian meringue to thicken?

I tried to make italian meringue and it was all going well until the meringue, (with the sugar syrup added), just didn't thicken and turned into 'royal icing'. Next time, how do I make it and what can I do to rectify now?
Amateur Baker
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1 answer

How to know when meringue has been over-whipped?

I have seen many recipes, SO's and videos where the baker/chef/etc put egg white in a machine and whip it on high speed for anything up to and over 10 minutes. I have been warned about over whipping my egg whites when making meringue... Though I…
Matt W
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6
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3 answers

Egg temperature for meringue

All the experts insist that a meringue must be made with room-temperature eggs. Why? I ask because my experience runs completely opposite, at least when it comes to flourless/nut-based desserts where the principal (possibly only) ingredients are egg…
Marti
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