Well my friends, here is the long awaited recipe for a foolproof meringue frosting!  This is one of the recipes people ask for the most.  I had previously published a recipe for a meringue frosting (which I will substitute with this one), but that frosting technique had its disadvantages. The previous meringue frosting recipe had to have all the perfect conditions of humidity, temperature and timing in beating for it to turn out perfect, which renders it completely obsolete to me as a cake frosting after having tried this version several times.

So I ask that meringue frosting purists excuse me this time. Please understand that living in the tropics means that in recipes which include meringue frosting you need to “cheat” a little. In this case the secret ingredient is light corn syrup.  I assure you the frosting will be silky and smooth.  It is delicious with my recipe for Birthday Cake.  If you happen to have leftover cake, which I rarely do, you will see the frosting is still intact and delicious the next day.  Also, if you don’t have a candy thermometer, just remove mixture from heat once the granulated sugar is dissolved in the bain-marie.

This technique I learned from reading a book called The Modern Baker from Nick Malgieri.  Trust me it is soooo easy to make!  You don’t have to make a syrup separately and add to the beating egg whites anymore!  So, wether you call this recipe Meringue Frosting or Seven Minute Frosting, the result will be a fluffy, simple and sultry sweet pleasure for your palate.

Enjoy!

Meringue Frosting

technique adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri

Ingredients

4 large egg whites

generous pinch of salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Procedure

1.  Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil over medium heat.

2.  Combine egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla extract in the heat proof bowl of an electric mixer and whisk by hand just until combined.

3.  Regulate the heat of the pan with the water just so it boils gently and place the bowl on top.

4.  Whisk gently just to keep the mixture moving until its hot (about 130ºF/55ºc) and all sugar is dissolved.

5.  Place bowl in your electric mixer with the whisk attachment and whip icing until it has cooled and become white and fluffy.  Serve with my Birthday Cake recipe or your favorite dessert.