Advertisement
  • Newsletter
  • Subscribe
Food

How To Perfect Baking A Meringue

Summer is a tricky time of year to coax egg whites into a crispy, cloudy form. Here’s how to stick the landing on this dessert.
By Chantal Braganza
A light pink circle swirl on top of other pink swirls. Produced By Aimee Nishitoba. Photo, Christie Vuong. Food Styling, Eshun Mott.

A fruit pavlova is born of contradicting truths. The juicy crush of summer berries and crispy chew of meringue were made for each other, but summer is also a tricky time of year to coax egg whites into this crispy, cloudy form. Here’s how to stick the landing on this dessert.

Check the humidex

If there were ever an indoor recipe that required a weather check, a pavlova would be it. Try to avoid making it on sticky days; humid air forces moisture into a meringue, making it prone to collapse.

Give yourself plenty of time

The key to a meringue's crisp, airy texture is dryness. You can encourage this by leaving your baked pavlova in the turned-off oven with the door slightly open as it cools down and dries out completely.

Keep it fat-free

Cleanly separated eggs and a thoroughly washed and dried bowl are crucial to helping a meringue whip up nicely. Any residual fat molecules from a broken yolk or a previous baking project can burst a meringue’s bubble.

Advertisement

Separate your eggs while they’re cold

Crack and separate eggs straight out of the fridge, when the yolks are firmer and less likely to break, then let the whites get up to room temperature before whipping. Room-temperature egg whites beat up faster than cold ones, while a broken yolk will introduce deflating fat into the mix.

Use a glass or metal bowl

The best way to guarantee a grease-free bowl is to use a glass or metal one. Plastic is porous and can retain trace amounts of oil.

Go slow

Cut down on your whipping time by adding sugar slowly, bit by bit or in a thin, steady stream.

Use superfine sugar

Superfine sugar— which is softer than granulated but not quite as powdery as icing sugar—will give your meringue a smooth, glossy sheen. Don’t have any on hand? Take your regular white sugar for a very quick spin in the blender.

Advertisement

The very best of Chatelaine straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Copy link
The cover of Chatelaine magazine's spring 2025 issue, reading "weekend prep made easy"; "five delicious weeknight meals", "plus, why you'll never regret buying an air fryer"; "save money, stay stylish how to build a capsule wardrobe" and "home organization special" along with photos of burritos, chicken and rice and white bean soup, quick paella in a dutch oven, almost-instant Thai chicken curry and chicken broccoli casserole in an enamelled cast-iron skillet

Subscribe to Chatelaine!

Want to streamline your life? In our Spring 2025 issue, we’ll show you how—whether it’s paring down your wardrobe, decluttering your messiest spaces or spending way less time cooking thanks to an easy, mostly make-ahead meal plan for busy weeknights. Plus, our first annual Pantry Awards.