Meringues

Meringues are beaten egg whites sweetened with sugar. Their most frequent use in North America is for pie toppings and cake icings (known as boiled icing). They are also used to give volume and lightness to buttercream icings and to such preparations as dessert soufflés.

Another excellent use for meringues is to bake them in a slow oven until crisp. In this form, they can be used in place of cake layers or pastry shells to make light, elegant desserts. Chopped nuts may be folded into meringue before forming and baking to make these desserts more flavorful.