Meringue is one of those magic ingredients that always takes me back to my childhood. Whether it was the soft top of a lemon meringue pie, a fruity pavlova or an Eton mess (usually the result of a failed pavlova in our house), this simple mixture of egg whites and sugar was always something to look forward to. Now I am older, and frankly braver/more irresponsible in the kitchen, Italian meringue is one of my favourite things to make. The smooth, rich, marshmallowy delight means the empty bowl is licked until it gleams! The added bonus of Italian meringue is that, if you want to take it a step further, you can beat in butter and flavours to make Italian buttercream meringue… possibly the best three words in the language. In this small section, we’ll make French and Italian meringues. They will be enough to open up pretty much any meringue-based fun you’re looking to have.