Photo: don.reid / Flickr

Italian meringue is also known as boiled meringue as boiling sugar is used to cook the egg whites. This meringue technique is good for Pavlova, Baked Alaska and ordinary meringue nests. James Martin uses a variation of this recipe to make one quantity of Italian meringue for a mousse – in which case he uses three egg whites, 180 grams of sugar and 5 tablespoons of water (we’ll be posting this recipe soon). You will need a sugar thermometer and a brush for this recipe.

Italian meringue ingredients

For this boiled or Italian meringue recipe, you will need 360 grams of white caster sugar, 30 grams of glucose, six egg whites and 80 ml of water.

You could halve this recipe to make a jelly-based mousse – in which case, leave out the glucose and add 5 tablespoons of water. The method for making boiled meringue remains the same, see ‘How o make Italian meringue below’.

How to make Italian meringue

Pour the water into a saucepan on a moderate heat. Add the sugar and the glucose ‑ if you are using glucose. Stir the sugar mixture until it boils – then brush the sides of the saucepan with cold water and skim the surface.

Increase the heat so that the syrup begins to cook faster. Put a sugar thermometer into the syrup ‑ watch the thermometer and when it reaches 110 degrees Celsius, start whisking the egg whites until they are firm.

Remove the saucepan from the stove when the temperature reaches 121 degrees Celsius. Beat the egg whites on a low speed once they are stiff and slowly pour the syrup onto the egg white mix.

Continue to pour the syrup in a thin stream as you beat the egg whites but don’t allow the syrup to fall onto the whisks. Carry on beating the mixture on a low speed for about 15 minutes or until such time as the Italian meringue is almost completely cold.

This is a sign that the meringue is ready to be used – to be folded into other ingredients or to be used as straight meringue for a Pavlova or a baked Alaska dessert.

Tags: desserts