Aga meringues

Aga meringues with lemon curd

After I made lemon curd, I had five egg whites ready to make meringues.  They are a real treat and are delicious when made in the simmering or warming oven of the Aga. They don’t last long in our house, as the girls both love them, well they are balls of sugar so of course they love them.

You can either cook them in the simmering oven which takes about two hours or you can leave them overnight in the warming oven, which makes life very easy indeed.  I always make my pavlova in this way too.

For every egg white you will need 50g (2oz) caster sugar.  I always use golden caster sugar (which is less refined than white sugar) which gives them a lovely caramel hue.

5 egg whites
275g (10oz) caster sugar

Method

Line a baking tray with silicone paper.

Whisk the egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl (I always wipe a cut lemon around the bowl to remove every bit of grease) until they form soft peaks when you lift up the whisk.  Add the sugar a teaspoonful at a time, whisking in each addition before adding the next.  The mixture will become stiff and glossy.

Place spoonfuls onto the baking sheet.  Place in the simmering oven of the Aga for about two hours and then place on top of a tea towel on top of the lid of the of the simmering plate to completely dry out.  Alternatively place in the warming oven overnight and they will be perfect in the morning.

Serve with whipped double cream, fruit, chocolate ganache or indeed lemon curd.

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15 thoughts on “Aga meringues”

  1. Balls of sugar – you’ve sold it to me. I generally don’t like my “sweet” stuff too sweet, but I do so love meringues and this looks particularly tasty.

  2. You see, you have got an aga, so I know what lovely meringues you can make…this recipe will have to wait until I am back in london in with my Mum’s very red aga. I made a good black currant pavlova when I was back last year, Nigel slaters recipe, you might like it.
    I am making lemon curd this week, we have these lovely lemons from near naples.
    I like the sound of your house with such pudding choice on Sundays !

    1. Blackcurrant pavlova sounds like heaven! I am very jealous of your lemons from Naples, I bet they will make fantastic curd. I admit then when it comes to sunday dinner the focus does tend to be on the puddings.

  3. How long do you think you could make the meringues in advance please as I am making loads for a wedding?

    1. Hi Carolyn,
      As long as they are not squidgy they will last a long time. I have kept meringues for weeks in an airtight tin and they have been fine. I hope the wedding preparations go well.
      Best wishes
      Kath

  4. Hello,

    Not too sound daft but when you say overnight – could you give an example? I’ve got to try and make a large batch over the next few days, but unable to do it during the day.

    Thank you

    1. Hi Elena, not daft at all, the problem is that Agas can vary with the amount of heat they pump out. I place my meringues in my warming oven for about 10 – 12 hours. They are dry, rather than squidgy, and caramelised by then, which is the way I like them. Could you test some tonight perhaps? To make sure you are happy with them. Otherwise, my Aga tips book by Richard Maggs advises that you put them in the simmering oven on the lowest set of runners for 1.5 – 2 hours and then turn them upside down on the tray and place the tray on a tea towel onto the closed lid of the simmering plate. Unhelpfully though he doesn’t mention how long they should sit there for. I should think overnight would be fine.
      Wishing you the best of luck with them. Please let me know how you got on.
      Kath

  5. Kath, Just wanted to let you know, I tried both methods last night and both batches came out brilliant. I left in the bottom of the warming over for 11 hours, and the nest came up dry (in a nice way). The simmering over batch – i left to set overnight on the hot place and they were still a little chewy in the middle (which is actually how I prefer them :D)

    Thanks

    1. Brilliant Elena, thank you for letting me know. I am really pleased that both methods worked and it’s good to know that the ones left to dry on the hot plate were still chewy. I will try that way next time.

  6. Hi. My meringues were leaking very sticky, clear fluid. I’ve baked them in simmering oven for 2h at 100*C (even had a thermometer there). Not sure how to avoid the stickiness. The meringues were very chewy in the middle. I’ve got an 4 oven Aga. I absolutely adore Pavlova and would love to make it myself! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

    1. Hi Joanna, I am sorry that you have had trouble with your meringues. After the two hours you need to let them dry out on top of the Aga. My favoured way of making pavlova though is to cook it more slowly in the simmering oven. Overnight works well for me. I hope this helps.
      Kath

  7. Hello
    May I ask how long you leave them on the simmering oven lid? I have a very hot 2 oven Aga.
    Thanks in advance Lorna with the blue Aga in the little cottage xx

    1. Hi Lorna, It is difficult to give specific instructions because it will depend on how well baked they are when you fetch them out. I leave mine for a couple of hours. I hope this helps. Kath

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