Things to do with meringues. How to make the perfect meringue - fixing mistakes

Ah, meringue! .. Delicate, crunchy, crumbly or, conversely, soft, like cotton candy inside and with a crispy ruddy crust on the outside ... Mmm, pleasure! No wonder the sophisticated French called this delicacy "kiss" (from the French Baiser). In pre-revolutionary Russia, meringues were called "Spanish wind". It is also called meringue, and it is believed that it is more correct to call this dessert that way, because meringue is a protein cream, and meringue is the same cream, only dried. However, let's leave linguistics aside and try to cook this amazing dessert.

In general, the composition of the meringue is simple, like everything ingenious: proteins and sugar. Sometimes nut flour, starch, but this is no longer so essential. However, a short list of ingredients does not mean that making a fragile dessert is easy and simple. Meringue is a delicate, capricious substance, like a spoiled lady, and can bring many surprises and disappointments to an inexperienced cook. Therefore, before you open the refrigerator and take out the tray of eggs, arm yourself with theoretical knowledge of the subject and strictly follow the strict rules for preparing meringues, and then you will succeed!

You can make meringues in three ways. The French method is the simplest, it can be used to try to master this dish, as well as to make meringues of simple shapes, without subtle patterns. The protein mass turns out to be lush, strong, but with clearly distinguishable bubbles, so it makes no sense to put virtuoso roses on a baking sheet, they will float. The meringue is prepared in French like this: chilled whites are whipped to a strong foam with a pinch of salt, then sugar or powdered sugar is gradually added and everything is whipped until the so-called "hard peaks". This means that if you lift the whisk or mixer over the squirrels, they will not fall off, and the sharp edges will not bend under the force of gravity. The Italian method of making meringue differs from the French one in that rather hard-boiled sugar syrup is poured into the whipped proteins instead of sugar. The syrup is poured in a hot, thin stream, and whipping of the whites in no case stops until the whole mass has cooled down. This method is ideal for making creams - the boiling syrup brews the proteins, and the resulting cream does not fall off. With such a cream, you can layer cakes, cook cakes with it, fill tubes or eclairs, decorate any dessert. In addition, the cream, prepared in Italian, mixes well with butter, while the "usual" meringue flows from contact with fat. The Swiss method of making meringues is the most time consuming, since you have to build a steam bath. But the meringue prepared in this way is the strongest, persistent and dense. From the steamed mass, you can plant the most fancy cookies, and they dry very quickly, faster than everyone else, and you can draw beautiful complex patterns with it. The method of preparation is as follows: a dish with proteins and sugar is placed over a saucepan with boiling water, and the bottom of the dish should not come into contact with boiling water, and the whites are whipped, first slowly until all the sugar dissolves, and then quickly to get a thick, dense mass.

So, the cooking method has been chosen, and you are determined to surprise your guests with wonderful meringues. Stop for a few more minutes and remember a few very important rules, without which you will not succeed.

Protein must be the freshest! Only fresh proteins are able to retain air in themselves and give a dense, dense mass.

... The whites should be separated very carefully so that not a drop of yolk gets into them. It is done this way: over a separate dish, break the egg with the blunt side of the knife so that the shell cracks. Gently break the egg and release the protein into the bowl. The yolk remains in one of the shells. Just carefully pour the yolk into another shell, while the remaining protein slides into the dish, and the clean, undamaged yolk remains in the shell.

Try to break each egg over a separate dish, pouring the proteins into a bowl - a surprise in the form of a rotten egg plopping down on the rest of the proteins will not seem pleasant to anyone.

It is advisable to grind sugar into powder or buy ready-made powdered sugar in a store. The size of the grains will not affect the quality and taste, you just have to beat the protein mass much longer, because this must be done until all the sugar is dissolved. Otherwise, the remaining grains will crunch on your teeth.

... When whipping whites, it is good to use citric acid - in powder, diluted or just lemon juice. Citric acid is diluted at the rate of 1 tsp. powder for 2 tsp. water. Citric acid is added to taste, sometimes a few drops are enough, but if you like the sour taste, you can add more, for example, a teaspoon of acid. Just don't use, for heaven's sake, acetic acid!

Dishes and whisks should not only be clean, but perfectly clean, free of grease and any impurities.

It used to be thought that even a drop of water could negate any whipping effort. Now this statement is refuted with might and main. experienced chefs, and some even add a few tablespoons of water to the whites so that the dried meringues become especially brittle and dry.

Sometimes in whites before whipping a pinch of salt is added with it - it gives strength to the proteins.

If, according to the recipe, a little flour, starch or ground nuts are required to be added to the whipped proteins, then the flour and starch should be sieved to saturate them with air, and the nuts should be fried and ground as thin as possible.

Cover meringue baking trays with oiled or special baking paper.

If you decide to bake air baskets, then draw identical circles on the back of the baking paper (circle the bottom of the glass), fill a pastry syringe or cornet with a smooth round nozzle and fill the circles by squeezing the dough, moving in a spiral. Then place the dough along the edge of the circles in the form of a side in one continuous strip, or often plant small stars along the edge. After baking and cooling, fill the resulting baskets with cream or jam.

... To get even cakes, draw a circle or rectangle of the desired size with a pencil on the back of the paper, then put the dough in a pastry syringe or cornet and plant the meringue along the outlined contour, moving in a spiral. You can start from the center, or you can start from the edges, it doesn't matter.

In order to remove the meringue cakes from the paper, put the cake together with the paper on the edge of the table and slowly move it towards you, holding the cake with one hand, while pulling the paper down with the other. Acting carefully enough, you will get the cake safe and sound. Removing small meringues from paper is usually easy.

To prevent the meringue from melting under the influence of cream, jam or jam, make a layer of melted chocolate. To do this, melt the grated chocolate in a water bath in a small amount of milk or cream, stirring constantly and periodically removing from the steam so that the chocolate does not curl from excessive heat, stir until smooth and smear the inside of the baskets with a brush, trying to apply the chocolate with such a good layer. The same operation can be done with the cake layers - this will only add a crunchy chocolate flavor to your dessert.

That's all. Hard? Try it and see for yourself.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites (from medium eggs)
1 stack sugar (or sugar half and half with powdered sugar)
1-2 tsp vanilla sugar.

Preparation:
Begin whisking the egg whites (you can add a pinch of salt) with a whisk or mixer on a slow speed to create a bubble mass. Gradually, without stopping whisking, add sugar, whisking each time until the sugar is completely dissolved. Properly beaten egg whites do not fall off or hang down from the whisk. On a baking sheet covered with paper, place the meringue using two teaspoons or a cornet and place in an oven preheated to 80-100 ° C. Bake the meringues for 1-2.5 hours, depending on the size of the products. Do not remove the finished meringues immediately from the oven, let them cool and only then remove from the sheet.

Italian meringue

Ingredients:
2 squirrels,
200 g sugar
100 g of water.

Preparation:
Boil the sugar syrup. Whisk the whites into a strong foam, place on water bath and beat, gradually pouring the hot syrup into the whites, for 30 minutes. Put the prepared mass with a spoon or place it with a cornet on a baking sheet lined with paper. Dry the meringues until tender in the oven with the door ajar at the lowest temperature.

Ingredients:
1 protein
30 g sugar
15 g icing sugar
1.5 tbsp cold water.

Preparation:
An important note - the proteins in this recipe should be whipped by all means by hand with a whisk. Preheat oven to 120 ° C and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper. Pour the egg white into a deep bowl and whisk in one direction. As soon as the protein rises, turning into a transparent foam, add cold water to it, without stopping whisking for about 3 minutes. Now add sugar in a thin stream, without ceasing to beat, and then in the same way, in a thin stream, powdered sugar. Continue whisking until the mixture is thick and dense. If you lift the whisk, the protein mass should stick to it and not fall off. Place the prepared protein dough on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 40 minutes. The door must be closed. When the meringues acquire a uniform creamy shade, reduce the temperature to 100 ° C and open the door slightly. If there is a fan in the oven, turn it on. Dry the meringue in this way for about an hour. When taking out the baking sheet from the oven, do not taste the meringue by touch - it will be soft, but in the air the meringue will harden in just a minute.

Ingredients:
1 protein
150 g icing sugar
chocolate chips or any syrup to taste (for decoration).

Preparation:
Whisk the egg white and icing sugar until well combined. Take paper muffin cups, place walnut-sized portions of protein meringue in each and place in the microwave. Turn the stove on to maximum power and cook for 1-2 minutes. The meringues will increase in size. After turning off the microwave, do not take out the meringues immediately, let them cool down. Garnish with chocolate or syrup.

Meringue with chocolate and berry sauce (in the microwave)

Ingredients:
2 squirrels,
sugar - as much by weight as proteins,
20-30 g of dark chocolate,
100 g of any berries.

Preparation:
Whisk the egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice until soft peaks. Add sugar gradually without stopping whisking and increase the speed. Beat until the protein mass is damp and shiny and falls off the whisk. Gently mix the grated chocolate into the finished mass. Divide in paper forms and microwave for 30 seconds, no more. The power should be at maximum. Cool the meringue without removing it from the oven. In the meantime, prepare the berry sauce: chop the berries in a blender and rub through a sieve. Put the cooled meringues on a dish and pour over the berry sauce.

Ingredients:
8 proteins,
200 g sugar
150 g icing sugar
30 g starch
150 g of ground nuts (walnuts or hazelnuts).

Preparation:
Beat the whites into a fluffy foam, gradually adding sugar. Mix the powdered sugar with the starch, sift and quickly and gently stir into the whipped egg whites. Stir with a wooden spoon, put the mixture in a pastry syringe or envelope with a large star-shaped nozzle and place the meringue on a baking sheet lined with paper. Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to 100 ° C for 8 hours. Open the door slightly. Remove the dried and cooled meringue from the baking sheet, store in a cool dry place. In the same way, you can make the "Chocolate" meringue, only in the recipe replace the nuts with the same amount of grated chocolate.

Ingredients:
3 squirrels,
200 g icing sugar
250 g cream
400 g strawberries
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
½ tsp lemon juice.

Preparation:
Whisk the protein, adding 150 g of sugar little by little, then add the lemon juice. Stir well, add the remaining sugar and beat well again. On the back of the paper with which you will cover the baking sheet, draw circles (circle a glass or cup). Fill a piping bag with a circular nozzle and spiral the protein mass onto the mugs. Then change the nozzle to a star-shaped one and plant small roses along the edge of the circles to make baskets. Place in an oven preheated to 80-100 ° C and dry the baskets for 2 hours. Whisk in the vanilla sugar cream. Wash, dry and cut the strawberries into quarters. Fill the cooled baskets butter cream and garnish with strawberries.

In addition to airy cookies and baskets, there are delicious meringue-based desserts. This is a wonderful airy dessert "Pavlova", and a cake " Earl ruins", And the highest achievement of Soviet culinary thought, which appeared as a result of an oversight - the Kievsky cake. But this is already a topic for another article.

Happy meringues and bon appetit! (Stay with us!)

Larisa Shuftaykina

Sokolova Svetlana

Reading time: 1 minute

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How to make meringues at home? To cook classic recipe meringue at home can be done in one of the following ways. The main differences lie not in the choice of ingredients (classic steam - eggs and sugar), but in the peculiarities of the cooking technology - in the oven, microwave, in a water bath, in a multicooker.

Meringue (meringue) - incredible delicious dessert originally from France with a romantic name. Prepared with egg whites and sugar. Various ingredients are added to taste, including vanilla, powdered sugar, lemon juice, coconut flakes.

Meringue types

Culinary experts distinguish 3 main types of delicate delicacies.

French

It is baked for a long time (50-60 minutes) at low temperature. Merengue is served as a separate dish (dessert).

Italian

Meringue is prepared on the basis of boiling sugar syrup. It is often used for filling cakes.

Swiss

The peculiarity of the "alpine" meringue lies in the peculiar technology of whipping egg whites. A water bath is used to prepare the protein base.

How many calories are in meringue

Meringue is a sweet treat, not a dietary product. Meringue contains 250-300 kcal per 100 g, which is a high indicator for an airy and light dessert. Most of the calories are carbohydrates (69 g / 100 g) due to the large amount of sugar. It practically does not contain meringue fats.

The energy value is increased when meringues are used as an ingredient in cakes and pastries. Fatty pastry creams, whipped cream, and other high-calorie foods increase overall
the nutritional value of dessert with meringue is up to 400-450 kcal / 100 g.

Useful Tips before cooking

1. Beat the whites in a thoroughly washed dish, which has been wiped dry.
2. Use glass or metal bowls to whisk.
3. Mixing sugar with protein before whipping is strictly prohibited.
4. For faster dissolution, use powdered sugar instead of sand.
5. For a firmer and denser dessert, refrigerate the egg whites before cooking.

Meringue - a classic recipe

Ingredients

Servings: 6

• egg white 4 things
• sugar 240 g

Per serving

Calories: 270 kcal

Proteins: 3.5 g

Fats: 0 g

Carbohydrates: 68.4 g

1 hour. 35 minutes Video Recipe Print

Separate the whites from the yolks. I pour it into a separate bowl. Beat and gradually add sugar.

Mix the meringue ingredients thoroughly. I pour it into a bowl, put it in a water bath (a saucepan with boiling water). Whisk the egg and sugar mixture gently at high speed.

I get a homogeneous white mass. For convenience, I transfer it to a culinary bag.

I cover the baking sheet with parchment paper. I gently squeeze beautiful cakes out of the bag. I put it in the oven at 100 degrees. I cook the meringue for 80-120 minutes.

Eat to your health!

Homemade apple meringue

Ingredients:

• Apples - 3 pieces,
• Lemon juice - 1 large spoon
• Sugar - 4 tablespoons
• Powdered sugar - 160 g,
• Chicken egg - 3 pieces,
• Water - 1 large spoon.

Preparation:

1. My balls with a sponge. I break it into dishes. Separate the yolks with a separator. I send the proteins to the refrigerator. I leave one yolk.
2. My apples. Gently peel off the peel, remove the stalk and seeds. I cut it into thin particles. I put the apples in a deep saucepan, add sugar. I put a tablespoon citric acid... I'm sending it to the stove. I languish and stir from time to time. I try to soften the fruit. I taste it, checking the amount of granulated sugar.
3. Put the apple mixture to cool. After natural cooling, pour the whipped yolk over the apples. I put it in a baking dish.
4. Beat the proteins from the refrigerator using a mixer. Without turning off the kitchen appliance, I put in the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and foamy.
5. I turn on the oven and heat it up to 180 degrees. Put the egg mixture on top of the apple layer. Distribute evenly over the meringue (straighten if desired).
6. I send it to the oven for 15 minutes. Allow the dessert to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving the delicious apple meringue.

Apple meringue pie

Fresh baked meringue recipe. Incredibly delicious and easy to prepare. Dear hostesses, take a note.

Ingredients:

For the test

• Sugar - half a glass
• Wheat flour - one and a half glasses,
• Butter - 70 g
• Yolks - 3 pieces,
• Baking powder - 1 sachet.

For filling and meringue

• Apples - 5 pieces,
• Cinnamon - 1 small spoon
• Butter - 10 g
• Proteins - 3 pieces,
• Granulated sugar - 150 g
• Citric acid to taste.

Preparation:

1. I follow the standard procedure for separating the whites from the yolks. Beat the yolks in a separate bowl until they are foamy. I put the proteins in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
2. I add a large amount of sugar to the beaten yolks. Stir until the mixture thickens.
3. I add the melted butter to the yolks and sugar. I whisk.
4. Sifting flour. I pour in baking powder.

Useful advice. To the foundation apple pie with the meringue did not work out hard and hard, I do not recommend taking a large amount of flour. Better to take 1.5 cups and get a tender and crumbly crust.

1. I pour the mixture into the flour. I knead the dough.
2. I form a big ball. I leave it in the kitchen, covered with a towel to prevent chapping. 30-40 minutes is enough.
3. While the dough is infused, I turn to the fruit. Peel the apples, cut them into cubes.
4. I put butter in the pan and melt it. Then I spread the chopped apples, simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
5. For piquancy and aroma, add a spoonful of cinnamon. I stir the apples.
6. Grease a baking dish with butter. I put the dough in the mold. I distribute it evenly.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. I send baked goods for 10-15 minutes. The guideline for the readiness of the dough is a slightly pinkish color.
8. Beat the cooled proteins gently. I use a mixer at high speed to speed up the process. I get a thick foam.
9. On the finished dough evenly distribute the apple and cinnamon filling. I cover the top with a beautiful homogeneous mass based on sugar and proteins.
10. I'm sending the meringue pie to the oven. Cooking temperature - 140 degrees, cooking time - 15 minutes.

Video preparation

How to make sugar-free meringues

Diet recipe sugar-free meringue is a godsend for those with a sweet tooth who love a delicate French dessert. Thanks to the use of a sweetener instead of regular granulated sugar, the number of calories per 100 g of meringue is reduced to a minimum value of 52-55 kcal.

Ingredients:

• Egg white - 4 pieces,
• Lemon juice - 3 large spoons,
• Vanilla - 1 small spoon
• Sweetener to taste.

Preparation:

1. I'm breaking eggs. I separate the yolks from the meringue base - proteins.
2. Whisk the whites together with the lemon juice in a separate bowl.
3. Gradually add vanilla extract and sweetener. The amount of ingredients depends on your taste. I strive to obtain a homogeneous mass, foamy in consistency.
4. Spread the baking paper on top of the baking sheet. Using a special confectionery syringe with a large diameter, I make neat cakes.
5. I cook meringues in the oven at 100 degrees. Cooking time is 60-90 minutes.

When the cakes "fit", do not open the oven door. Leave the meringue inside for a few minutes, then open it slightly and take it out only after 10-20 minutes.

How to make cake meringues

Ingredients:

• Egg white - 4 pieces,
• Lemon juice - 1 small spoon,
• Sugar - 200 g
• Salt - 1 pinch
• Condensed milk - 300 g,
• Butter - 200 g,
• Bitter chocolate - 100 g,
• Walnut- 100 g,
• Medium fat cow's milk - 50 ml.

Preparation:

1. To make meringues for the "Earl Ruins" cake I take deep glassware. Beat the whites at a low mixer speed, gradually switching to medium. After the formation of foam, pour lemon juice in portions.
2. I turn on the high speed of the mixer and beat thoroughly for 60-100 seconds. As you mix, add the powder and 1 large spoonful of sugar. I achieve uniform whipping and complete dissolution of sweet meringue ingredients in the total mass.
3. The mixture should be airy, but firm and thick.
4. To obtain beautifully shaped blanks, I use a culinary bag. I prefer the rose attachment.
5. I cover the baking sheet with parchment. On top, at a sufficient distance from each other, I lay a meringue with a diameter of 3.5-4 cm. If the mixture is whipped correctly, the meringue will retain its shape and will not spread.
6. For even drying (cooking) of the dessert, I turn on the oven at 90 degrees. I set the timer for 1 hour. From time to time I open the sash to monitor the state of the cakes. The meringue should retain the natural white color of egg whites.
7. Transfer the melted butter to a separate bowl. Beat with a mixer, setting high speed.
8. Gradually add condensed milk, continuing to stir. After 3-4 minutes of beating, you will get a fluffy and homogeneous mass.
9. I am assembling the cake. I take a large flat plate. Spread the meringue evenly. I leave a distance between the cakes. I grease the bottom of each delicacy with condensed milk cream with butter.
10. Then I put a layer of meringue again with a missed bottom. I put the meringues in a beautiful slide. Decorate with cream on top.
11. I put chopped chocolate into a separate bowl. Pour hot milk on top. Stir vigorously until smooth so that the chocolate does not curdle from the high temperature.
12. Decorate the cake with chocolate icing on top.

To keep the meringue cake from getting too sweet and sugary, use dark chocolate, not milk chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites;
• 1 - 1.5 cups powdered sugar (or sugar);
• a pinch of vanillin;
• 1 tsp lemon juice.

How to make meringues at home