Italian Meringue Icing - A Favorite!
When I was a kid, my favorite birthday cake was a chocolate cake with fuzzy icing! This icing was our family's go to for birthdays. It was tinted with your favorite color and I loved it! In the day, this icing was egg whites, corn syrup and you beat the heck out of it. Now, raw egg whites are not supposed to be good for you, so I needed to find an alternative icing that was close to my favorite. Did I find it? I think I did and this icing is better! The old style icing got very watery the next day, so didn't hold well for leftovers. This Italian Meringue icing holds up very well, can stay in the fridge for a week (yes, I was eating the leftover icing out of the bowl all week long), and it's delish. Does it take a bit more work, yes, but it's so worth it.
Let's get to the recipe. . .
Italian Meringue Icing
In a saucepan, add
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
Bring to a boil over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 116 C (240 °F).
In a bowl, beat
5 egg whites and
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.
When the syrup reaches 116 °C (240 °F), reduce the mixer speed and very slowly drizzle the syrup over the egg whites, beating constantly.
Increase the speed and beat until the meringue is just warm and very firm peaks form, about 20 minutes.
*if you want to add a bit of food coloring - add some in now. (I made my icing a light pink with my red food coloring)
Add and stir to combine
1 tsp vanilla
*You have to coordinate the two operations so that the syrup is ready at the same time as the egg whites are frothy. I do the syrup and egg whites at the same time - they will be pretty close to being ready at the same time.
Avoid pouring the syrup over the beaters, as it may spill and stick onto the bowl’s sides. The hot syrup will produce steam and the whites will suddenly gain in volume.
Enjoy!
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