Meringue baking temperature in the oven

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

There are a few simple rules in making meringue, if you follow them, you can get a delicious and airy dessert. But if you break it - you don't know what. For example, if you set the temperature too high during baking, the products will be chewed like chewing gum or stick to your teeth. There are a few other important points to consider. But first of all, this is the baking temperature of the meringue.

Sweetness under study has a reputation for being a difficult dessert, but in fact, as long as you follow a few generally accepted rules, everything is easy. Egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks, are the base of the dessert, plus sugar. Then things get surprisingly complicated for a dish with only two ingredients.

Eggs and their choice

First of all, you need to make sure they are fresh. Break one thing: if the protein spreads in a puddle, the egg is stale, not good. But if the protein lies elastically aroundyolk - means fresh, perfect for making meringues. Baking temperature is of paramount importance, but the freshness of the ingredients is also important.

A little secret - if the eggs are chilled, the protein will be easier to separate and beat faster.

Proteins: how to separate?

Very carefully and carefully separate the whites from the yolks. Why? Yes, because if even quite a bit of yolk gets into the protein mass, then it simply will not whip. Therefore, for each new egg, it is better to use a separate bowl, so that in which case it is simple and easy to replace the protein with the yolk that got into it with another one.

Dishes

The container that was prepared for whipping the proteins should be dry and clean (as well as the mixer nozzles). Even a drop of fat or water will prevent whipping egg whites into foam. For reliability, you can wipe the dishes with lemon juice, and then with a paper towel.

Sugar

It is better to use sugar with small crystals or powdered sugar. For 1 protein we take 50 grams of sugar. It is important to keep the proportion!

How to beat better?

It's easier to do this with a mixer. First, small turns are taken, then gradually added to the maximum. When a characteristic mark remains from the whipped proteins on the shoulder blade, add a little sugar (a teaspoon each) so that the meringue does not fall off after baking. Continue beating (about 8-12 minutes) until stiff peaks form. The mass should become dense and lush. In order not to lose volume, at the end you can add a littlelemon juice (one teaspoon for 2 proteins).

Stabilizers

As noted above, one of the golden rules for making meringues is that all of your equipment must be thoroughly cleaned, without a speck of grease, or the cooking process will be much more difficult. Before you start, it's best to rub the mixer bowl with half a lemon to get rid of the last bits of fat before whipping the egg whites.

There are other tricks that a skilled chef can use to improve the chances of getting a bouncy lather. The most common is to add a small amount of an acid, such as vinegar, lemon juice, or citric acid, to the mixture after the sugar has been added. According to some experts, it also helps make the dessert crispy on the outside and soft and sticky on the inside.

Which recipe is best to use?

You can make two different versions of the meringue. The temperature and baking time in them will be different, although the set of ingredients will be the same. Both recipes include the whites of 3 large eggs beaten to stiff peaks with a mixer (unless you're a unique pastry chef, don't try hand whipping the meringue), and 200 grams of powdered sugar, added spoonful during the mixing process. In addition, you will need to introduce a little citric acid. After that, the mixture is laid out with a spoon on a baking sheet and placed in the oven. The meringue baking temperature in the first case will be 100 ° C, and the time will be up to one and a half hours to get a crispycrusts. This version, according to reviews, has a slightly stiffer texture, and when cooked, the dessert becomes evenly crispy.

The second version is done a little differently. The temperature for baking meringue at home will be slightly lower, and the cooking time will be longer. More on this below.

Sugar: what should it be?

Powdered sugar is a common choice for meringues - the fine grains dissolve easily into the foamy mixture. However, some pastry chefs are not afraid to experiment, using half regular granulated sugar and half powdered sugar in a recipe. This may lead to interesting results.

Meringue prepared according to this recipe is delicious, but too sweet. This technology is good to use for the Australian Pavlova recipe, but not as a separate delicacy. Therefore, it is better to introduce only powdered sugar, which gives a slightly caramelized taste and a beautiful golden color.

Beating technique in detail

Most recipes call for the addition of powdered sugar only after the egg whites have been beaten to soft peaks. If you put it in too early, you won't get good strong lather.

One of the professional recipes calls for powdered sugar to be heated to 100°C and then added to lightly beaten eggs that are “just beginning to foam”. Then everything is whipped at maximum speed for ten minutes, until the mixturewill cool down and will not retain its shape.

You will need some experience to master this technique. The result is a dessert that looks like a mixture of French and Italian meringue - the sugar continues to caramelize and can thus solidify in the mixer bowl. However, by being able to choose the right speed, you can learn to avoid it.

Freshly whipped blanks look great on a baking sheet: fluffy and tall. The baking temperature of the meringue will be about one hundred degrees. When you take them out of the oven, you will be pleasantly surprised by the unusual orange tint of the dessert. The meringue tastes good and is easier to form than the traditional recipe, but the color is completely different.

Temperature conditions

At what temperature should meringues be baked? Experts say that too much heat can cause not only the products to burn on top, but also the destruction of their consistency.

Jamming the oven door with a rolled-up tea towel or wooden spoon to keep it from overheating seems to be one of the best solutions. This is inconvenient, but it can help keep meringues at the right temperature.

How to bake properly?

As noted above, there are two options for preparing this airy dessert. At what temperature and how long should meringues be baked for each?

In the first case, set the temperature in the oven to 100 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper andGently place the beaten egg whites on it. You can use a pastry bag or a regular spoon. We do not open the oven for the first hour - it is necessary that the meringues dry well. If opened, the temperature difference may cause the cakes to crack.

Dessert preparation time takes 1 to 2 hours depending on their size. The smaller they are, the faster they cook. The readiness of the product can be checked by tapping it with your finger. The finished meringue will make a dull rustling sound and will easily separate from the parchment.

Supporters of the second method argue that the temperature of 100 degrees is too high. You must place the products in an oven heated to 60-70 degrees and bake them longer in time. In this case, you are not so much baking the dessert as drying it by evaporating the water and leaving only the hard structure of the mixture of eggs and sugar and air bubbles between them. Such a selection of temperature conditions when baking meringues requires cooking them for six hours. However, the result will pleasantly surprise you.

After cooking, do not immediately take out the meringue! You need to slightly open the oven and wait a couple of hours for the dessert to cool completely.

Delicacy variations

Various interesting options are possible. For example, walnut meringues. You need to add chopped almonds or hazelnuts. The proportions are approximately the following: for 4 proteins, 500 grams of nuts, 200 grams of powdered sugar and one bag of vanilla sugar.

To beautifully decorate the meringue, you can use multi-colored syrups. You need to do this when the proteinsalready whipped (one tablespoon of syrup for three egg whites).

Another delicious meringue comes with chocolate. We take chocolate (at least 70% cocoa content), melt it, then cool it well. For three proteins, we take 100 grams of sugar, 100 grams of chocolate and starch in the amount of one tablespoon.

Starch is mixed with sugar, and chocolate is poured in a thin stream at the end, when the whites are well whipped. We bake a little differently. The first half hour we cook at a temperature of 150 degrees, then reduce to 100 and bake until tender.

Conclusion

To make this delicacy, you need clean equipment, good sugar and, most importantly, a low oven heat. Which meringue baking temperature is best depends on the cooking method.

If you don't have an oven thermometer and you suspect it's too hot, try turning it down to its coldest temperature and leaving the food inside. They are too good to be rushed to make as they might be ruined.