David Baker
www.davidbakeronline.com

Meringues are back in fashion
Financial Times, October 27, 2006

They're big, blousey, rather coarse and, it seems, in the window of every self-respecting British cafe from Notting Hill to the north Norfolk coast. Meringues, those in-your-face delights of the 1970s, are back.

" Meringues are very, very popular now," says Yotam Ottolenghi, founder of the eponymous chain of London cafes that has made meringues its trademark window display. "No other food is white, so you can get a good contrast of colour and marvellous special effects such as red raspberry sauce or chocolate. They always catch people's eyes."

As with most staples, the origins of meringues are vague. Some people say they were invented by a Swiss pastry cook called Gasparini in the east German town of Meiringen, others that the word comes from Polish. Either way, patisserie made from stiffly whisked egg whites and sugar emerged in Europe in the 17th century and was a great favourite of Marie Antoinette, who (apparently) would make them with her own hands.

Today meringues divide into three types: French, Swiss and Italian, according to how they are made. Italian and Swiss meringues are cooked on top of the stove - Italian by pouring a slow stream of hot sugar syrup into whisked egg whites, Swiss by combining the two ingredients over a bain marie.

But it is French meringues - great dollops of white goo dropped on to a baking sheet and, if anything, dried rather than cooked in a cool oven - that have caught the imagination of cafe-goers. One bite into the crumbly-chewy-powdery texture and you are immediately seven years old again.

Like most dishes involving whisked egg whites there's an air of mystique about meringues and most people think they can't make them well. But all you need to remember is that, from chewy in the middle to powdery fine, there's no such thing as the perfect meringue. The right meringue is the meringue you love to eat yourself.

Still, before setting off on your voyage of meringue -discovery, there are some useful tips for success.

*Clean your mixing bowl. Meringues rely on the egg white increasing up to eight times its size and you will never achieve this if there is even a speck of fat in the mixture. Wipe it down with a little wine vinegar to get rid of any final traces. And don't use plastic bowls, you can never quite get them fat free.

*Use fresh eggs at room temperature. If necessary leave them out of the fridge for half an hour before you use them.

*Start whisking slowly for a couple of minutes, then increase the speed to medium for another minute and then moderately fast until you have stiff peaks. Always use a machine, says Ottolenghi - "It'll take far too long by hand" - but be careful not to over-whisk. If it starts to go watery, throw it out and start again.

*For chewy centres, add a teaspoon of white wine vinegar to the mix before cooking and bake very slowly.

*Experiment. The texture of meringue depends on the amount of sugar you use (the more sugar, the harder the meringue), the temperature of your oven (and your gas mark 1 will be different from mine) and how long you bake them. You will soon find the combination that you like best.

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SIMPLE MERINGUES

Makes 16 small, eight medium or four giant meringues

Ingredients

3 large egg whites at room temperature

a pinch of cream of tartar

1tsp white wine vinegar

6oz (175g) caster sugar

Method

*Preheat your oven to 300'F/150'C/gas mark 2. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

*Put the egg whites into a bowl and whisk slowly until they become bubbly. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed and whisk for another 2-3 minutes until the whites make stiff peaks. Add the vinegar and keep whisking as you add the sugar about a tablespoon at a time. Whisk some more until you have a sheeny, satiny mixture that holds its shape and doesn't drop off the whisk.

*Spoon dollops of the mixture on to the paper-lined tray. For small meringues use about a dessertspoonful each, for medium ones a tablespoonful, for lovely, fluffy giant ones, dollop one tablespoonful's worth on top of another.

*Put into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 275'F/140'C/gas mark 1.

Bake for about 30 mins (small), 1 hour (medium), 90 minutes (giant) and then turn off the heat and leave them in the cooling oven to continue drying out until completely cool (four hours or overnight).

*You'll need to experiment with these initial cooking times. Like a cake, you can test meringues by inserting a toothpick in the centre. For powdery meringues it should come out completely dry, chewy meringues are ready when the toothpick comes out sticky but not wet. If you find after the cooling period they are too soft in the middle you can put them back in an oven 275'F/140'C/gas mark 1 for another half hour - though don't tell the purists.

ETON MESS

An easy and delightful dessert and a great way to use up the results of your meringue experiments.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1lb (450g) strawberries

1 pint (570ml) double cream

12 medium-sized meringues

Mint leaves for garnish

Method

*Hull and roughly chop the strawberries. Whip the cream. Break the meringues into a bowl, add the strawberries and fold in the cream.

*Serve in individual cups garnished with a mint leaf.

And one for all those left-over yolks?.?.?.?

ZABAGLIONE

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 egg yolks

6 tablespoons caster sugar

6 tablespoons Marsala wine

Method

*Put the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk with a hand-held whisk until pale and thick.

*Add the wine and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the water doesn't boil and that it doesn't touch the bowl. You don't want to overcook your mixture. *Keep whisking until the mixture has significantly increased in volume - about 10 minutes. Don't over cook.

*Spoon into glasses and serve immediately.