How to make Italian meringue (easy recipe)

Posted: January 21, 2025

Italian meringue is used in a lemon meringue pie, as a filling in various desserts, or as a topping on other pastries. This recipe makes it easy to make your own!

Make your own Italian meringue

One of the most famous recipes featuring Italian meringue is probably the lemon meringue pie. That lovely crumbly cookie base, delicious lemon curd and a topping of Italian meringue. Lightly toasted with a crème brûlée burner/ kitchen torch.

Before I decided to make my own lemon meringue many years ago, I had never made Italian meringue. In fact, making this particular meringue scared me a little. Whenever I start a recipe with sugar syrup or caramel, I always feel that it will be very difficult and that I will fail easily.

Of course, I was worried for nothing. In fact, this Italian meringue is really easy to make. The only thing to remember is not to stir in the pan and to use your sugar thermometer, which will tell you when it’s ready. If you do that you will be allright!

Italian meringue = cooked meringue

Italian meringue is an egg white foam made with a hot sugar syrup. This sugar syrup is added to the whipped egg whites while it is still piping hot, thus cooking the egg whites. This is why Italian meringue is also called cooked meringue.

Thanks to this method, the foam keeps longer than a french meringue and can be used on cakes, pastries and desserts. The French meringue is generally used in things that need to be baked in the oven. Think pavlova, meringue cookies or crispy meringues.

I will soon tell you more about the different types of meringue!

Why Italian meringue?

Apart from the fact that it was a breeze to make, the result was fantastic! Honestly, I have never had such beautiful meringue.

If you take some of the foam between your fingers, you won’t feel any sugar crystals. The sugar dissolves easily due to the temperature of the syrup. The texture of this Italian meringue is super fine and smooth, but also firm. I could put a spoon upright in the foam, shake the bowl and the spoon just stayed in place. So the perfect stiff peaks. It is the most stable of the meringues and perfect for using in raw form.

I could go on and on about the benefits of Italian meringue. For example, you can snack on this meringue with confidence. You don’t have to worry about salmonella from raw egg whites. The sugar syrup has heated the egg whites and killed the bacteria.

This is great for pregnant women, the elderly and children. But also for you, as you can snack on the uncooked meringue 😉.

How to make the Italian meringue

Making this beautiful meringue is easy. You start by whipping the egg whites with the icing sugar to stiff peaks. Make sure you do not get any of the egg yolks in your egg white mixture as they will make it impossible to get stiff peaks. The same goes for the bowl and the whisk attachment. Make sure they are absolute fat free. Cleaning it with a bit of lemon juice is a good way to make sure it is fat free.

Now is the time to make the sugar syrup. Add the sugar and the water to a small saucepan. Place on medium heat and bring to the boil. Do not stir the mixture! If there is too much sugar on the sides of the bowl use a wet pastry brush to brush it down. Once the sugar mixture has reached the right temperature turn on the food processor at medium speed. Control the mixer speed as you do not want the hot syrup flying around!

Slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the bowl while whisking. Once all is in, turn the machine to it’s highest setting and keep whisking until the foam is cold. The mixing bowl itself will still feel somewhat lukewarm probably but the meringue itself will be cool.

Lemon meringue recipes

By now I’ve said so many positive things about Italian meringue that you probably can’t wait to start baking with it. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few recipes on Laura’s Bakery that use Italian meringue. So stay tuned for lots more delicious meringue recipes coming up soon. Some of my favorite desserts use Italian meringue. Spoiler alert; they’re not on the site as of yet but we’re working hard to get them all up and translated! So just a little more patience. Make sure to start by reading how to whip the perfect egg whites.

How many eggs do I need to make 200g/7 oz of egg whites?

A medium-sized egg weighs about 55 grams/ 1.9 oz on average. For the egg white of a medium egg, you generally count 30-35 (1-1.2 oz) grams, so about 6-7 eggs (M).

Which sugar thermometer do you use?

In theory, any type of sugar thermometer should work. I have a digital sugar thermometer which I am very happy with. It can be attached to the edge of the pan with a small clip and gives a signal when the temperature is only 2 degrees off the set temperature. Very handy! That way you don’t have to keep watching the thermometer all the time.

How long in advance can I prepare and store Italian meringue?

I don’t recommend making Italian meringue in advance and storing it in a bowl in the fridge for later use. The moisture in the fridge does not combine with the sugar in the meringue. Some say you can store it in a sealed piping bag in the fridge, but I don’t recommend it.

If stored, the foam will slowly but surely dry out. Once piped on the cake, you will have less trouble with this (especially if you have toasted it with a blowtorch). However, bear this in mind when storing your cake, as it is likely that the quality of your foam will deteriorate slightly after a night in the fridge.

Can you make baked meringues with Italian meringue?

You certainly can, as well as pavlova. However, I prefer to use my French meringue recipe (to make meringues) or my basic pavlova recipe.

Can I add coloring to the meringue?

Yes, you can. I have never done it with Italian meringue, but with French meringue I opt for a paste, gel or powder color. That way, you don’t add too much liquid, which can cause the frosting to fail.

What kind of burner do you use to toast the Italian meringue?

Roasting (or toasting) Italian meringue is incredibly delicious and very easy to do with a simple (crème brûlée) gas burner. Italian meringue already looks a bit like marshmallow fluff because of its firm structure, and when you toast it with a blow torch it looks even more like marshmallow fluff. It’s almost like making s’mores but in a different shape and form.

My egg whites won't come out stiff, how can this be?

You’ve most likely left some egg yolk in the bowl with the egg whites or you have not cleaned your bowl and whisk properly. Even a little bit of yolk or grease can result in the meringue not setting properly. For splitting the eggs I always use three bowls. One for breaking the egg and splitting it. One for adding the clean egg white and one for the egg yolks. If something goes wrong with the 3rd egg for instance I don’t have to start all over again but just need to replace the one egg.

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Italian Meringue

Italian foam is used in (on) lemon meringue pie and as a filling and topping in various desserts. This recipe is very easy to make.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Servings: portion

Ingredients

Metric | US Customary

200 grams egg white
75 grams icing sugar
325 grams granulated sugar
85 grams water

Instructions

In a fat-free bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and add the icing sugar. Leave this to stand for a while, we will add the sugar syrup later.
Place the water and granulated sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil at 121˚C/238˚F. Do not stir in the pan.
Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. When the syrup has reached the right temperature, turn on the mixer with the whisk attached. A stand mixer is easiest, as it leaves your hands free.
Make sure that any splash lid is no longer on the mixer/bowl. Remove the pan from the heat and, with the machine turning, slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites.
Continue to whisk on the highest setting until the foam is cold and starts to form peaks; the bowl itself will usually still feel lukewarm at this point.
You can use this foam as a filling or topping in desserts. As the egg whites are heated, you can eat this without baking. For a crispy, light brown layer, use a gas burner.
Italian meringue can also be baked. It works in the same way as 'normal' French meringue. Bake for 2 hours at 100°C/212˚F (conventional oven).

How to store

You cannot make this Italian meringue and store it in the fridge. The moisture in the fridge does not mix with the sugar in the meringue. Bear this in mind when storing your cake. Also, the frosting will gradually dry out as it is stored. Once it's on the cake, this won't happen so quickly, but it's not very practical to store the meringue in a bowl and use it later.

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