Skip to Content

Simple Tips to Make Your Meringue Fluffy

Simple Tips to Make Your Meringue Fluffy

Share this post:

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

There are tons of different desserts that require you to make meringue. Some types of cookies include it, but most people get used to making it when they’re making various types of pie.

Getting the meringue just right can be trickier than you might expect, and if you’re new to baking, you might run into problems.

Many have noted that the meringue simply doesn’t come out as fluffy as it should. What’s the reason why this happens and what can you do to make things better?

Below, you’ll find important information about making meringue fluffier. This should make it simpler to get things to turn out just right so that you can enjoy your dessert.

Separating the Eggs

Separating the eggs will be one of the toughest parts of making meringue for many people. This process involves separating the egg whites from the eggs.

Sometimes this can be kind of tough to pull off because it’s easy to mess up and get a bit of egg yolk in with the egg whites. If this happens, then you’re going to have to discard things and start over again.

There are a few pieces of advice that can make your life easier, though. The first is to make it easier to separate the egg whites by doing it when the eggs are cold.

It seems to be a lot easier to separate eggs when they’re fresh out of the refrigerator. If you avoid waiting too long to separate them, you’ll have a better shot of doing so without errors.

You might also want to avoid using just one bowl in case you make mistakes. Successfully separating one or two eggs and then making an error on the third one could cause you to have to discard the ones that you did successfully.

Avoid having this happen by pouring the egg whites that you’ve separated successfully into a larger bowl after finishing. Then you can try to separate the next egg and it won’t be as big of a loss if you make a mistake.

It’s also important to understand that you need the eggs to be at room temperature by the time that you’re mixing the meringue. After separating the eggs, you must wait until everything has warmed up properly before continuing.

Try Using Old Eggs

Another handy little tip that can make a difference is to use eggs that are a bit older. Older eggs seem to be better when you’re trying to make the fluffiest meringue that you can.

You don’t want to use eggs that are too old, though. This means that you should test them to see how fresh they are.

It’s actually easy to test eggs by using a simple glass of water. You place an egg in a glass and you’ll be able to tell how fresh it is based on how it reacts.

Place an egg in a glass of water and then see if it floats. If it floats, it’s too old and you should throw it away.

You want to use eggs that stand on end when you’re making meringue. An egg that lays on its side will be a bit too fresh to get ideal results.

Use a Very Clean Bowl

The bowl that you’re using to make the meringue is important. You don’t necessarily need a special type of bowl, but you do need to use one that’s very clean.

If there’s anything off about the bowl, it could mess the meringue up. This means that you should meticulously clean the bowl to give yourself the best chance of success.

It might be a good idea to go ahead and wash the bowl right before you plan to make the meringue. This will ensure that you don’t have anything to worry about.

Some people go so far as to wash the bowl twice. Just ensure that it looks very clean and then move on.

Avoid Whipping the Meringue Too Much

There is such a thing as whipping the meringue too much. If you get overzealous when using a hand mixer, you could easily whip it more than you’re supposed to.

Going too far with the whipping will change the consistency of the meringue. Instead of whipping air into it, you’re going to make it lifeless.

When you’re done with the whipping process, it’s supposed to look smooth and glossy. If something went wrong, it’ll likely look much different.

How to Whip Egg Whites to Make Meringue

In case you lack confidence going into this process, you’ll be able to read this advice to learn exactly how to whip egg whites to make meringue. If you follow the instructions, you should always be able to enjoy a fluffy dessert.

You need to put egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt into a bowl. Now you’re going to beat the egg whites using an electric hand mixer until the whites start to look foamy.

Now it’s time to add sugar to the bowl. Add one tablespoon of sugar at a time and remember to beat the mixture well each time that you add more sugar.

Once all of the sugar has been added, it’s time to beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. You can easily test the consistency of the meringue by lifting the beater out of the bowl and taking a look at it.

If everything is good to go, you’ll see that the peaks will rise as you lift the beater up. It’s pretty easy to tell when you have stiff peaks.

When you tilt the bowl a bit, the meringue should stay in place instead of moving. There also shouldn’t be any watery egg residue at the bottom if you’re truly done.

You should also take the time to touch the meringue. When it’s done, you should be able to tell that it feels as smooth as silk instead of having a grainy consistency.

Humidity Can Negatively Impact Meringue

Finally, you should know that high humidity levels can potentially negatively impact meringue. If it’s a hot and humid day, it could wind up absorbing too much moisture.

This means that it will turn out wrong and it might wind up being sticky. There have also been cases where the meringue has turned out limp when made during humid days.

If you live in a humid area, you can take steps to try to protect things by lowering the humidity inside. Many people will use dehumidifiers if they have particularly high humidity levels in their kitchens.

Final Thoughts

Following all of the advice above should make it so that you can get the meringue to turn out properly. It’s easy to get the fluffy, stiff peaks that you desire when you do things the right way.

Be sure to use room-temperature eggs when you’re making everything. It’s easier to separate them when you use cold eggs, but you can just separate the eggs first and then wait for things to warm up before proceeding.

It might be good to use older eggs since those can help you to get better results. Adding sugar to the mix slowly is a big part of getting the meringue to turn out right, too.

Avoid making mistakes such as beating the mixture too much. Watch out for high humidity levels as well since that can throw things off.

You have the information that you need to do things right now. Enjoy making a delicious meringue that will look pretty and will taste fantastic.

Share this post: