You don’t need a mixer. No fancy equipment is needed. All you need are two things and a little patience.
Most people think of meringue as one of those fancy French techniques that requires chef training. In Turkey this is called mereng or beze, but it’s usually much simpler than you think. It’s a sweet and light cloud that melts on the tongue. Very light. Not too sweet. In winter it is perfect with hot cocoa and in summer with vanilla ice cream.
Here’s an easy way to do it.
What do you really need?
The ingredient list is short enough to fit on a sticky note.
- Whites: Just the whites of two medium eggs. Save the egg yolks for omelets and custards.
- Granulated sugar: 100 g. It’s not brown sugar. Not powdered sugar. White, granulated sugar.
that’s it. There are two ingredients. The magic is in the technique, not the recipe.
Double boiler method (no mixer required)
You might want to beat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and pray. Don’t do it. If you want to achieve firm peaks without an electric mixer, you need heat.
The setting is as follows:
- Take a medium-sized pot and fill it with water.
- Put on the stove and heat on low heat. You want a simmer, not a rolling boil.
- Grab a heat-proof glass bowl (Pyrex works best). It must be placed on top of the pot, not in the water.
- Check the water level. The water should be below the bottom of the glass bowl. If the water touches the glass, you are making scrambled eggs. Keep the water level at least 1 inch below the rim of the bowl.
Pour the egg whites and sugar into a glass bowl. Start whisking.
You feel the temperature rise. The heat helps dissolve the sugar completely. This is the key. The insoluble sugar crystals give the meringue a granular structure. As the sugar dissolves, it becomes smooth and shiny.
Continue stirring until the mixture is warm and the sugar has disappeared. Continue when it feels rough when you rub it with your fingers. When it’s smooth, it’s done.
Molding and baking
This is where you get creative.
Transfer the warm mixture to a piping bag. If not, use a Ziploc bag and cut off the corner. It works the same way.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not use foil. Do not use an unlined pan. Sugar sticks to other things.
Pipe the meringues onto the paper. Make them small. Think bite-sized coins or little nests. It doesn’t spread too much so you can pack it pretty tightly.
This is the hard part. The oven must be preheated to 150°C (300°F). Put the tray in. and set the timer for 20 minutes.
Do not open the oven door.
After 20 minutes it should look dry. they
