How long can I hold an Italian meringue at room temp?

Doing a riff on a baked Alaska for dinner party, want to meringue the cake at the last minute. Making Italian meringue with a cooked syrup, how long can I safely hold it at room temp without it deflating?

stacey_ballis
  • 34300 views
  • 3 Comments

3 Comments

Grace's S.
Grace's S. February 25, 2012
Italian Meringue holds well for a couple of days at room temperature but it can also be frozen, the high sugar content prevents it from hardening.
 
boulangere
boulangere February 25, 2012
Italian meringue is the most stable of all the meringues. What I've done for Baked Alaska is to go ahead and cover the ice cream with meringue as early as I need to, then return it to the freezer. Pull it out about a half hour before serving, and torch it off at the last minute. Your meringue will hold up fine in the freezer, and will soften up before serving.
 
ATG117
ATG117 February 25, 2012
They start losing volume pretty immediately. I would use them right away.
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52