Mini Confetti Meringues Recipe | Dr. Oetker (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put icing sugar in meringues? ›

Recipe Notes

If you want, you can add some crème of tartar (an acidic powder) to the meringue to stabilize the mixture. Add icing sugar instead of caster sugar as it dissolves quickly and it will make the process a little easier. Incorporate the sugar slowly as you beat it through the meringue.

Add the lemon juice and using an egg beater, beat the egg whites until frothy. They should form what's called soft peaks. Peaks are the "hills" that pull up when removing the beaters from the foam. You'll know your peaks are soft when the tips gently fall over.

I use a star-shaped tip for my vanilla meringues (Ateco #848), which pipes in deep, dramatic ridges. To fill the pastry bag easily, lower it into a tall glass or vase and fold the edges of the bag over the rim. This will hold it in place for hands-free filling.

Swiss meringue is ideal for piping, as it holds its shape well, and incorporating with other mixtures or ingredients, as it also retains its volume. Swiss meringue can also be made into a silky smooth Swiss meringue buttercream.

It can be made with any sugar. One cup of superfine sugar or packed brown sugar is equal to 1 cup of granulated sugar; 1-3/4 cups powdered sugar equals 1 cup granulated. Superfine sugar may dissolve more readily and produce a smoother glossier meringue, but volume will not be as great.

Acid. Whether it be vinegar, lemon juice, cream of tartar, or a combination, an acid will greatly improve the structure of meringue. Acid not only helps meringue whip up and aerate more quickly, it also keeps it stable. Without acid, meringue is more likely to collapse either during or after mixing.

Use ultrafine Baker's Sugar for meringues and other baked goods – it dissolves faster than regular granulated sugar. Use ultrafine Baker's Sugar to help prevent “weeping” or sogginess. Meringues will weep if there's any undissolved sugar. Don't put granulated sugar in a food processor to achieve a finer grain.

Fat residue in your mixing bowl or on the beaters of your mixer is the mortal enemy of meringue. Fat will impair the egg white's ability to be whipped into stiff, glossy peaks. You can prevent this disappointment with one teaspoon of white vinegar.

Cream of tartar stabilizes the tiny bubbles in the egg whites, by precluding the egg proteins from sticking together. It thus speeds up the egg white whipping process and contributes to a stable, billowy, glossy meringue, perfect for cookies, topping pies, and folding into cake.

How many egg whites make 1 oz? ›

On average, one large egg white weighs approximately 1 ounce. Therefore, you can expect to have approximately 3 egg whites in 3 ounces.

Don't use packaged egg whites to make meringue. The pasteurization process can prevent egg whites from forming a stable meringue. We recommend fresh eggs over "liquid egg whites previously packaged" for better volume. Use fresh egg whites.

Carton Egg Whites: The meringue might have to be whipped longer than it would with regular fresh whites. Also, have in mind that the meringue will seem to be a bit softer than usual, that's the nature of the carton egg white meringue, you may have to do a few trials before learning the perfect meringue consistency.

To make mini-piping, cut 1 and 1/2 inch strips of fabric on the true bias (45 degrees). Knit fabric should be cut on the cross-grain - no need to cut on the bias. Strips may be seamed together to make additional yardage. Lay the mini-piping cord down the middle of the strip.

In fact, if you've run out of piping bags, you don't have to save your cookie recipe for another day. Rather, you can employ any number of other vehicles for your meringue batter. Specifically, cookie scoops and spoons work perfectly well as piping bag alternatives.

Meringue can simply be scooped out onto a baking sheet with a soup spoon or a cookie scoop to make rustic, billowy cookies, or you can pipe it for neater, more uniform cookies.