Recipe

French meringues

Name: French meringues
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 105 min
Total time: 170 min
Yield: About 16 small meringues
Ingredients: 4 egg whites, at room temperature (about 120–130 g / 4½ oz, roughly ½ cup); 240 g fine caster sugar (8½ oz, about 1 cup + 3 tbsp superfine sugar); 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar; 1 pinch of salt (optional); 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Classic French meringues from 4 egg whites and twice their weight in sugar. Crisp shell, light centre, dried slowly in a low oven.

Kids4 / 4Adults2 / 2

ServingsAbout 16 small meringues

Preparation20 min

Cooking105 min

Total time170 min

DifficultyEasy

French meringues on a wooden board, one broken open to show the crisp shell and soft centre

Ingredients

4 egg whites, at room temperature (about 120–130 g / 4½ oz, roughly ½ cup)
240 g fine caster sugar (8½ oz, about 1 cup + 3 tbsp superfine sugar)
1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar
1 pinch of salt (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Let’s make it.

Heat the oven. Set it to 100°C (210°F) conventional heat, or 90°C (195°F) with the fan on. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Start whisking. Put the egg whites (and the pinch of salt, if using) in a perfectly clean, grease-free bowl and whisk at medium speed. When they turn foamy, add the lemon juice.
Add the sugar, slowly. Once the whites start to form soft peaks, raise the speed little by little and begin adding the sugar: about one tablespoon every 20 to 30 seconds. Never pour the 240 g (8½ oz) in at once.
Whisk until thick and glossy. When all the sugar is in, keep whisking for 5 to 8 minutes, adding the vanilla at the end if you are using it. The meringue should be very white, thick and shiny. Lift the whisk: it should leave a firm peak that barely droops.
Do the finger test. Rub a little meringue between your thumb and forefinger. You should hardly feel any grains of sugar. If you do, whisk a little longer.
Shape. Pipe the meringue onto the tray, or simply drop it on with a spoon, leaving a little space between each one.
Dry in the oven. Small meringues of 4 to 5 cm (1½ to 2 in) need about 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 45. Large ones need closer to 2 hours. They should stay white or the palest ivory.
Cool in the oven. Switch the oven off and leave the meringues inside, door slightly ajar, for at least 30 to 60 minutes. They finish drying gently as the oven cools.

A little note.

Weigh the whites. It is far more reliable than counting eggs. The rule: the weight of the whites × 2 = the weight of the sugar. If your 4 whites weigh 125 g (4½ oz), use 250 g (9 oz) of sugar.

Not a trace of yolk. Even a little yolk or grease can stop the whites from whipping up properly. Wipe the bowl and whisk with a little vinegar or lemon juice on kitchen paper before you start. A glass or metal bowl is better than plastic.

Use fine sugar. The smaller the crystals, the more easily they dissolve. If your caster sugar is on the coarse side, blitz it for a few seconds in a blender.

Add the sugar slowly. After the clean bowl, this is probably what matters most: the sugar stabilises the foam little by little.

The lemon really helps. The acidity steadies the egg white proteins and makes the meringue more robust.

You are drying them, not baking them. If they turn yellow, your oven is too hot.

Leave the oven door alone. Swings in temperature encourage cracks.