French meringue is a style of meringue, made from egg whites and sugar. It is the simplest style of meringue to prepare. Unlike Italian meringue and Swiss meringue, no heat is used in the preparation of the meringue.
To prepare a French meringue, egg whites are beaten at high speed in order to aerate them and cause the proteins to adhere. When shiny, stiff peaks form, powdered sugar is gently folded into the meringue.
French meringue is commonly folded into soft batters for soufflés, ladyfingers, and mousse; piped and baked at low oven temperatures to create crisp cake layers and cookie-style meringues designed to be eaten out of hand; or poached, as in îles flottantes.
