This meringue is light, fluffy, and stable at room temperature. It is an Italian meringue, made with a hot sugar syrup that pasteurizes the egg whites so there's no worry about consuming raw egg from this recipe. Use it as a sweet mix-in to give your pie filling structure or lightness. You can also top fruit curds with it, or toast it with a blowtorch and serve it over a chocolate ganache filling in a graham crust if you want to accomplish fancy s'mores vibes.

NOTE: Be careful if you try to swap out the granulated sugar for brown sugar (or any other types for that matter). The molasses substance in brown sugar causes it to foam up quite high when being boiled at higher temperatures, as in this recipe's sugar syrup. If you do use a different sugar, make sure you're using a large, high-walled pot, keep a very close eye on the syrup and remove the pot from the burner if the foam is threatening to overflow, and keep a close eye on the syrup temperature as well because it can shoot up faster than with granulated sugar.

Ingredients

200 g granulated sugar (1 cup)

100 g water

3 egg whites

Method

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small, heavy-bottomed pan and stir to fully moisten the sugar.
2. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan and check the temperature periodically as you move to the egg white whipping step of the recipe described below. Ultimately you'll need to bring the syrup to 240° F (115° C).
   • If you don't have a candy thermometer, cook the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is boiling. Pour some cold water into a glass and add a few ice cubes. Drop a small spoonful of the syrup into the glass and pick it up between your fingers. If it dissolves, your syrup needs to boil longer. If you can form it into a soft ball, your syrup is ready.
3. While the syrup boils, put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip them to medium-soft peaks.
   • If your egg whites reach medium-soft peak before the syrup reaches the desired temperature, slow your mixer down to the lowest speed while you wait. If they aren't at medium-soft peak yet by the time your syrup is ready, turn the heat off under the syrup, move it to a cold burner, and continue whipping your whites.
4. When your syrup and egg whites are both ready, make sure your mixer is on high as you carefully pour the syrup into the bowl, being very careful not to allow the syrup to hit the whisk, which will cause splattering. The best way to avoid this is to pour the syrup so it slides down the side of the bowl and into the egg whites as you whip.
5. Continue to whip the meringue until it becomes fluffy and glossy, and when you stop the mixer and lift the whisk attachment out of the meringue, it holds a stiff peak with perhaps just a tiny curl of meringue at the very top.
   • The meringue may still be a bit hot at this point, so it's okay to let it sit undisturbed at room temperature until it cools down, or you can put it in the refrigerator.