Sugar won’t dissolve into meringue

[Manolis Gustavsson]

I followed this recipe (see the very bottom of the webpage) for my Pavlova and it turned out virtually perfect, but, my sugar wouldn’t dissolve fully. It annoys me because the undissolved sugar crystals are noticeable when eating the cake. I followed the recipe religiously, eg. I used caster sugar and I allowed the egg whites to be whipped to soft peaks before beginning the process of adding the sugar slowly (one table spoon at a time - it took 10+ minutes for all of the sugar to be incorporated), now whipping on medium speed. After this I continued whipping the meringue on medium-high for another 11 minutes but at the end I could still feel sugar crystals between my fingers. I’m afraid I’ll remove too much air from the meringue if I keep on whipping it or that it’ll become over-beaten/grainy.

Why isn’t my sugar dissolving into the meringue ??!

What external factor could be playing a role here (equipment, weather etc) or am I doing something wrong? I know some people resort to making a Swiss meringue instead to overcome this problem but I want to find the culprit in my current method. I should also mention that I added the zest from one large lemon to the egg whites at the start of the whipping (to flavor the meringue) - could this somehow inhibit the sugar from dissolving into the meringue?

 

[MeLikeFood]

My best guess is you're not cooking it long enough, even if you think you are you're not. Sugar melts at around 367 degrees, the recipe calls for an oven temperature that's significantly lower than that but the long cooking time allows for the meringue to steadily come up in temperature to a point where the sugar will dissolve, and the meringue will dehydrate and become crispy. Your ovens probably just calibrated differently then the person who wrote the recipes is. You need to either adjust your oven temp, leave it in longer, or both.

 

[Manolis Gustavsson]

@MeLikeFood Thank you for the advice, I’ll try it out for my next Pavlova (which I think will be very soon ). Do you have any ideas why the sugar wouldn’t dissolve already during the whipping stage? This has been the case in all videos and recipies that I’ve seen; it’s even said that you shouldn’t bake the Pavlova before the meringue is completely smooth and free from sugar crystals...

 

[MeLikeFood]

Maybe your sugar is too course? Where are you from, when I had family living overseas in Hong Kong I noticed that most sugar there was the consistency of raw sugar that you get in the states. Maybe you need to pulse it in the food processor to get it to a finer consistency so it'll dissolve easier... I use caster sugar, which is super fine, for most of my baking and meringues now that I think about it so maybe that's why I don't have the issue you're having. Worth a try.

 

[Manolis Gustavsson]

@MeLikeFood Yeh, I also use caster sugar :/ but I’ll try and pulse in the food processor to get it in an even finer form next time. Btw do you think the sugar would dissolve eventually if I just keep on whipping the meringue even longer (I now whipped it for 11 minutes after all the sugar was incorporated)? I’m just afraid that I’ll overwhip/deflate it. How long (approx.) can you whip a meringue (on medium) before it gets overbeaten?

 

[MeLikeFood]

Hm, you said it took 11 minutes to add in all the sugar? Maybe that's the issue. You want to add it in gradually but maybe that's a bit excessive. Once all the sugars added I was always taught you want to let it go for another 5 minutes give or take....i don't know I'm stumped haha. I wish I could just watch you make it

 

[Manolis Gustavsson]

@MeLikeFood Haha alright thanks for the time you put into helping me out with my questions!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Whipping egg whites take a bit of practice. You can start adding the sugar just before the you reach the soft peak stage. What matters most is not using cold egg whites; whipping the egg whites with nothing for the first 45 seconds or so; then adding the acid (cream of tartar is best IMO); beating until at least frothy, then begin adding the sugar slowly.

I explain how to beat egg whites in this thread

How to beat egg whites

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I explain the science of beating egg whites in this thread if you are curious

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