Swiss Meringue

To make this Swiss meringue recipe, start by preparing all the ingredients.

Pour the egg whites into a mixing bowl or a pastry basin.

Add the caster sugar...

...and mix using a whisk.

Beat with a hand whisk to whip the meringue...

...over a bain-marie (simmering water).

The mixture must rise in temperature until it reaches 40/45°C...

...to do this, use a laser thermometer. Or a very simple way to know if you are at the right temperature without using a thermometer: dip the tip of your finger into the preparation. The sensation of heat should be barely bearable. At that moment...

...transfer the preparation into the bowl of the stand mixer...

...and beat at maximum speed until completely cooled.

The meringue is ready to be used. You can transfer it into a piping bag fitted with a pastry nozzle (plain or fluted depending on the desired result).
Generally baked in the oven at 100°C maximum for 1 hour (then turn off the oven, leaving the meringues to cool inside), it is also perfect for decorating a lemon tart. This meringue has the particularity of resisting the "weeping" phenomenon quite well, where the sugar turns into syrup and beads after a few hours. In the case of baked meringue, it is also used to make small decorative subjects (examples: swan and meringue mushrooms that decorate Christmas logs).
It keeps particularly well in a dry, airtight box for 4 to 6 weeks, or even longer...