How to make a meringue for decoration. Wet meringue cream

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Wet meringues are great for decorating cakes, cupcakes, and other pastries. Delightful flowers, cupcake caps, stars, curls, whatever! With all this, the cream is easy to prepare and, importantly, it is quite inexpensive from an economic point of view.

Thanks to Natalia Bondarenko for this recipe. On the eve of Easter, Natalya proposes to decorate Easter cakes with flowers made of wet meringue. By the way, we have to create cream flowers.

“Very soon - April 16, the bright holiday of Easter. Last year, my Easter cakes were decorated with white flowers - wet meringue, Swiss meringue without oil. My customers really liked the decor, and I offer you a recipe for a protein cream. The same recipe can be used for a simple white coating - it does not crumble, it keeps its shape well.

Prepare in advance pastry nozzles in bags, bowls, paints, spoons for coloring the mass. Dyes I take Gel "Amerikolor" or "Top Decor".

• 100 grams of raw chicken egg protein;
• 180 grams of granulated sugar;
• citric acid on the tip of a knife;
• vanilla (or other flavoring).

Weigh all ingredients in a fireproof bowl.

Pour water into a pot that is larger in diameter than the bowl with the mixture and boil (this is a steam bath).

Place the bowl (water should not touch the bottom of the bowl) and mix the ingredients with a mixer at low speed until the sugar dissolves, then increase the speed and beat, moving the whisk around the cup in a circle so that the whole mass is covered.

Just two ingredients - and the result is amazing. Airy, crispy meringues that slowly melt in the mouth and turn into a stringy gum. This is an excellent decor for a torus (especially in winter, when berries and fruits are expensive), as well as an independent dessert for tea. Children crunch with enthusiasm with these cakes, and just strive to steal a couple of them while you are busy decorating the cake!


Both gel and powder dyes are great for coloring meringues, but they interact with them in different ways. If you use gel dyes, the meringues are shiny, smooth and slightly sticky. If you use powder, the meringues are matte and will not stick. You just have to choose what you like best.
About what dyes I use, how I prepare colored meringues - and it will be discussed today.

Ingredients (for two trays):

• Egg whites - 3 pcs.
• Powdered sugar - 150 g
• Salt - on the tip of a knife
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Citric acid - 1 pinch
• Food colors in the desired color.

How to make colored cake meringues

Before you start whipping the meringue, wipe the mixer bowl and whisk with lemon juice or citric acid solution, this will help to destroy traces of fat from the bottom and walls of the bowl. If there is even a little fat on the whisk or bowl, the proteins will not churn.

For the same reason, we carefully ensure that the yolks do not get into the whites when we carry out the separation of the eggs.

To be on the safe side, separate each protein into a separate bowl, and then add it to the total protein mass.

So, to prepare the meringue, put 3 egg whites at room temperature in a bowl (or in a mixer bowl), add a pinch of citric acid and beat at a low mixer speed for 30 seconds.

Then gradually increase the speed of the mixer and beat for about 1 minute more until soft peaks and splendor.
Without stopping whipping, add 1 tbsp to the protein mass. l. powdered sugar (total volume 150 g).

When all the powder is mixed with the proteins, increase the speed to maximum and beat for about 3 minutes more until shiny, stiff peaks.

Add 1 tsp to the meringue. vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 90 C and cover the baking sheets with Teflon rugs or good baking paper.

We divide the entire protein mass into as many parts as you plan to make different colors. I prepared meringues in two pastel shades: lavender and mint. Therefore, I divided the protein mass into 2 parts and carefully tinted it using the Americanolor gel dye: I mixed leaf green and navy blue for a mint hue, and a little regal purple dye for a lavender meringue.

We transfer the colored mass into pastry bags with the necessary attachments (I used the "Open Star" attachment). Then we place the meringues of the required size on cold prepared baking sheets.

I have recorded for you a detailed video recipe for making a cake meringue. Welcome to the channel on You Tube, I wish you a pleasant viewing! Subscribe to the channel not to miss new video recipes!

Each housewife has her own recipe. Try alternative methods, if the main one described in the recipe does not work.

When adding a photo to Instagram, please indicate the tag #pirogeevo or #pirogeevo so that I can find your photos on the network and enjoy the result with you.

In the art of culinary, it is important not only to prepare food deliciously, but also to present it beautifully. The French claim that people eat with their eyes. And if the food is appetizing, psychologically it seems tastier than it actually is. And if the food looks sloppy, then the eater will turn his attention to it last, even if it is the most delicious dish on the table. Appearance is especially important for sweets: they are a solemn component of a festive feast and must be appropriate for the moment. Wet meringue will help to make the cake beautiful. This cream combines perfectly with any dough and layers between the cakes, is flexible during work, does not spread, keeping the given shape - just the perfect design material.

"Wet meringue" for cake decorating: recipe

The cream is made by the hostesses in several variations. But the base is always the same, only the ratio of the components is modified, and even not so significant ingredients are added. The technology used to prepare the "wet meringue" is similar in basic steps to the method of creation

To begin with, the proteins are separated from the four eggs and cooled as much as possible. They are whipped until light foam. There is no need to strive for its stability - if only the mass acquires homogeneity. Pour into the proteins: a glass of granulated sugar, a bag of vanilla and a little citric acid (about a quarter of a large spoon). The workpiece is stirred, and a bowl with it is placed in a water bath. When the bottom is just starting to boil, actively beat the future meringue. The process should not stop for a second and continue for about a quarter of an hour. Then the cream is removed from the stove and whipped for another five minutes. The output should be a dense substance that does not settle and is easily held on a fork or whisk.

Subtleties and secrets

For those who have not yet prepared a wet meringue cream, the recipe may seem elementary. However, the result can be very disappointing if you do not know some tricks.

1. Squirrels should be cold, almost to the point of freezing. Experienced chefs advise to put them in the refrigerator in the evening, on the eve of cooking.
2. Squirrel dishes must be clean and completely dry. The smallest droplet of foreign liquid will prevent you from whipping them to the desired consistency. The same applies to the yolk particles trapped in the whites. It is better to divide each egg over a personal cup so as not to spoil the already obtained mass.
3. How much to keep the cream in the bath depends on the temperature of the water in it. Readiness to remove from heat is determined by the consistency of the cream: if it sticks, becomes thick and comes off in whole chunks - it's time to move on to the final stage.
4. In no case should you bring the "wet meringue" to a boil! To prevent it, you need to work with the mixer continuously.

If you do not immediately start decorating, the cream should be hidden in the refrigerator after cooling.

How to paint

Since a "wet meringue" is used to decorate the cake, multi-colored versions may be needed. There are also a number of rules here.

1. Neither syrups nor juices are suitable for coloring - they will break the consistency, make the cream too liquid and fluid. Only food coloring!
2. Dye cannot be poured in dry form; it will not dissolve in the meringue. If there are no liquid ones, a 5-gram sachet of powder is diluted in a teaspoon of vodka and only after that is added to the cream.
3. The dye is introduced at the very last moment, after removing the pan from the stove, drip, with intermediate whipping.

You can tint "wet meringue" in beige and brown tones with instant coffee. It is diluted in half a spoonful of water and mixed until completely dissolved. Softer shades are obtained with the introduction of cocoa, brewed in a minimum volume of milk. The main principle in both cases is as little liquid as possible.

Terms of use

In order for the "wet meringue" to fulfill its task with honor, it must be properly cooled before application. Firstly, hot it can melt the top layer if it is made of caramel or glaze. Secondly, the chilled "wet meringue" is easier to take and hold the shape you intended.

All design delights are created only with dry auxiliary objects, be it a knife or Moisture will violate the planned density of the cream, and it will begin to creep.

If you want to make the cake more durable, after covering it with cream, you can hold the treat not in the refrigerator, but even dry it in a warm oven. "Wet meringue" will become common, it will serve as an additional "shell", although it will be more fragile.

If you are planning to build something monumental on your cake (for example, a magic castle), the classic "wet meringue" may not hold its own weight. To make the cream more durable, structural and embossed, you need to change the proportions. You need to take sugar at double the weight of proteins. Naturally, for this they will have to be weighed. It is pointless to change the dose of sugar further, it will not dissolve in excess.

Recently, home-made cakes have won over purchased ones not only in taste. Home cooks have learned to decorate pastries no worse than professional pastry chefs. Glaze, marzipans, fruits, chocolate, waffle crumbs - these decorations can transform the most modest cake. And today we will learn how to make wet meringue cream for exquisite decoration of cakes at home. It is impossible to spoil it if you fully adhere to the instructions.

Protein cream wet meringue for cake decorating

Inventory: bowl, spatula, stewpan, mixer, baking parchment, foil, pastry bag, special "nail" for forming flowers, scissors, pastry syringe with attachments, brazier.

Ingredients

Step by step cooking

1. Separate the whites from the yolks from 2 eggs.
2. Place the whites in a large bowl, add 100 g of sugar and stir slightly with a spatula.
   
   
3. Pour water into a saucepan, put a bowl of proteins in it. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water; we will beat in a steam bath.
   
   
4. Put the saucepan on the fire and beat the whites with a mixer at high speed.
   
   
5. After 5-6 minutes, the mass will become white and dense. Add a quarter teaspoon of citric acid to the whites and beat for 1-2 minutes.

   During heating, the cream should not be left for a second, otherwise it will boil, and proteins at temperatures above 70 degrees will simply curl. Beat the whites continuously.

   
   
   
6. Remove the bowl from heat and continue whisking on the table for 3-4 minutes. The result is a dense, shiny mass, slightly oily in appearance.
   
   
7. Plant flowers with a pastry bag and a nail.
   
   
8. Using scissors, transfer the flowers from the baking dish to a baking sheet lined with parchment.

   You need to work with the protein mass immediately, while it has not yet begun to dry out. And while working with the first portion of the cream, cover the bowl with foil. For coloring in the protein mass, you can add gel dye or cocoa powder. Do not add a water-based dye, otherwise the protein mass will flow from the water. The settling molds and all surfaces must be completely dry.

   
   
   
9. Dry meringue flowers for 50-60 minutes at a temperature of 100 degrees.
   
   

The subtleties of cooking

Meringue is a delicate and weightless decoration... It is laid out on the cake at the last moment on top of mastic, chocolate or icing. It is also a very capricious piece of jewelry. Here are some secrets for making it:

• sugar in the recipe can be replaced with powdered sugar of the same weight;
• citric acid can be replaced with freshly squeezed lemon juice (strain so that there are no seeds) or natural apple cider vinegar;
• eggs must be washed and wiped dry before breaking;
• the dishes for the protein cream must be absolutely dry;
• the dishes should be large so that the whites do not splatter when whipping;
• so that the yolk does not accidentally get into the total protein mass, pour each protein into a separate bowl and add one at a time to the general bowl. The yolks can be used to make homemade mayonnaise, for example.

If there is no pastry bag or special attachments, it doesn’t matter, you can do with improvised means.

• When depositing a protein mass, it is really possible to do without a pastry bag at all. For this purpose, an ordinary clerical file or cornet is suitable - a bag of parchment paper. You can plant flat shapes with a cornet: stars, hearts, letters, numbers, zigzags, stripes.
• Decorate the cake with traditional meringue cookies and get creative with the decorating process. For example, divide the cream into several parts, paint each in its own color, and such a multi-colored meringue will already decorate the cake. Multicolored meringues go well with fresh strawberries, blueberries or blackberries (they don't allow juice), Raffaello sweets, colorful sprinkles, waffle crumbs, mandarin slices, fig pieces, fresh flowers and buds.
• If you are not going to plant complex shapes or flowers from the protein mass, you can add a little aromatic alcohol to it: rum, cognac, liqueur. Alcohol should be added at the last moment, when the cream has cooled down enough.
• Wet meringue jewelry dries well even in the air. The cooled protein mass is applied directly to the icing or to the top of the cake. In taste and consistency, such a cream resembles a marshmallow.
• Wet meringue cream can be used both as an interlayer for the cake layers and for leveling the surface of the cake. The main thing is that spoons, shovels and smoothing knives are absolutely dry.

Video recipe for making Wet meringue cream

Hello! In the previous recipe, I showed you how to make muffins. And if you remember, for their preparation I used two yolks instead of one egg (you can do this and that). And why did I complicate my life in this way, you will find out right now :)

The fact is that I decided to prepare meringue cream for those muffins. And I did this in order to get not just a muffin, but a full-fledged dessert, and in this case a cake. Well, as usual, I decided to approach this issue in the most rational way. I went through all the types of creams I knew and opted for a meringue (Swiss merengue), because for its preparation I had everything at hand, it keeps its shape perfectly (which means it is suitable for decorating muffins), and quite light.

To prepare meringue cream at home, several methods are used (despite the fact that the composition of the cream is one). I opted for a recipe for a meringue cream in a water bath, this cream is called "Swiss meringue". The so-called water bath disinfects proteins during the meringue process, so this recipe is perfect for making cream for cakes and pastries.

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 squirrels
• 120 g sugar

Meringue cream (Swiss meringue). Recipe with photo

So, in one plate I have two proteins remaining from the preparation of muffins, and in the other - 120 g of sugar measured on a kitchen scale. The action begins :)

Combine proteins with sugar in a large bowl (or salad bowl, or saucepan) and begin to beat with a mixer. A couple of minutes, no more.

Then we fill the pan with water (you need to adjust the amount of water so that the container with meringue cream is partially lowered into the water) and set it on low heat. The bowl of meringue cream is firmly on the second floor on a saucepan of water and possible splashes cannot penetrate into it. We continue to beat the meringue. After three or four minutes, you can already see something that resembles a cream. But it's too early to finish cooking the meringue. The cream is not yet dense enough and the proteins have not yet been sterilized. Ideally, it is necessary to bring the cream to a temperature of 65 degrees, but I do not have a thermometer, so I acted by touch :)

From the first moment to this photo, it took about 7 minutes of whipping. And here is the result - a dense, tasty, homogeneous meringue cream, ready to decorate any cake or pastries. From this moment you can not hesitate, you should fill the bag or syringe with cream and start decorating the baking with it.

Since my hand is still not strong enough in terms of decorations, the meringue hats on muffins look the way they look :) But on the face it is homemade. Such muffins with meringues created an excellent duet, the cakes turned out to be delicious, tender and light. And they were eaten in the next few hours.