French meringue
Description
The recipe won't take much time. I'll share a few little secrets with you—specifically, how to bake French meringue. So, if you prefer meringue cookies with a crisp crust and soft center, bake the piped shapes in a preheated oven at 140–150°C (285–300°F) for 4–5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 60°C (140°F) and continue baking for approximately 15 more minutes. If you prefer the classic version, dry the meringues at 90–100°C (195–210°F) for 1–1.5 hours. Serve cooled.
Instructions
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Step 1
1. Prepare the ingredients. There's no need to chill or warm the egg whites beforehand; meringue whips up perfectly with any temperature whites. Some recipes use granulated sugar for meringue, but I believe powdered sugar works best, as it ensures no sugar granules remain in the finished meringues.
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Step 2
2. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Generally, the amount of powdered sugar used is twice the weight of the egg whites (2:1). For example, if one raw egg white from a medium chicken egg weighs 25-30 grams, you will need exactly twice as much sugar—50-60 grams. Add lemon juice to the egg whites along with half of the powdered sugar. Begin beating the mixture with a mixer at the lowest speed, gradually increasing to the maximum speed as you continue.
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Step 3
3. When the mixture becomes white and glossy (whipping time 4-5 minutes), starts to thicken, add the second half of the powdered sugar and continue whipping for another 10 minutes.
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Step 4
4. The finished meringue is glossy, thick, dense, free of lumps, and holds its shape perfectly.
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Step 5
5. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. I ran out of it at the most interesting moment, so I piped the meringues onto a silicone mat (yes, you can also dry or bake on them). Place the meringues in the oven for one hour at 100 degrees.
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Step 6
6. Remove the ready meringues from the mat, taste them!