Meringues

A niece was christened on Sunday, so I spent Saturday afternoon baking meringues in relays to feed the hordes.  The meringues elicited praise from no less a person than my mother, a connoisseur of the meringue if ever there was one.  I used the recipe from the same antiquated book that my scones recipe comes from, and I followed the suggestion of using 1 part icing sugar to 3 parts caster sugar for optimum lightness and professional finish (though I began too late to try her other meringue trick of separating the egg whites from the yolks the night before so that excess water can evaporate from the whites, supposedly making the beating of the whites a lot easier).

Recipe after the jump …

Ingredients for six medium-sized meringues

1oz icing sugar
3oz caster sugar
2 egg whites

Scale up accordingly for more meringues, or (possibly more advisedly) make several batches, as meringues are very dependent on slow, consistent baking for good results.

Heat oven to gas mark 1.  Line baking sheet with greaseproof paper.  Ensure whisk* and bowl are free of any trace of grease (scald with boiling water if not).

Whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  Mix in a spoonful or two of sugar at a time, combining thoroughly after each addition — this may take 5 to 10 minutes.  Spoon, using metal spoons, on to the prepared sheet (the above were created with two full dessertspoonfuls per meringue).  Bake for about an hour; a little less if you like them pale on the outside and with plenty of soft foam inside.

*Machine beater, hand-held electric beater or a manual rotary whisk — I suppose it’s theoretically possible to make these with a normal balloon whisk, but I don’t want to be responsible for you doing such a thing, as it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.  I used a manual whisk for these meringues.