Basic Meringues

To get a crisp, individual meringue, heavily sugared and stiffly beaten egg whites are cooked very slowly in the coolest oven. They are really dried out rather than cooked. Avoid cementing them to a baking sheet, use silicone paper. Meringues that are to be used to top sweet tarts are cooked for a short time at a higher temperature, giving a crisp browned surface and a light, soft-textured interior mass. The meringues given below may be sandwiched with lemon- or vanilla-flavoured whipped cr