Cloud Coffee
A soft meringue floated on iced coffee, so it sits above the glass like a cloud and melts slowly into it. Aquafaba works as well as egg white and removes the one thing to be careful about.
At a glance
- Espresso : milk
- 1:3
- Active time
- 10 min
- Total time
- 11 min
- Makes
- 1 tall glass
- Serve
- Iced, unstirred
- Kit
- Electric whisk
Ingredients
Note: Use pasteurised egg white from a carton, or aquafaba. Raw shell eggs carry a small salmonella risk and this foam is not cooked.
Method
-
Whip the white with the acid
Egg white or aquafaba into a clean dry bowl with the cream of tartar. Whisk on medium until it turns opaque and foamy, about a minute.
The bowl has to be properly clean. Any trace of fat or yolk prevents the proteins forming a stable foam, and the mixture will never thicken.
Whisk 1 minute -
Add the sugar slowly
With the whisk running, add the sugar a teaspoon at a time over a minute or two. Keep going until it holds a soft peak and looks glossy.
Dumping it in all at once collapses the foam you have just built. Slowly is the instruction.
Whisk 3 to 4 minutes -
Build the coffee underneath
Fill a tall glass with ice, add the cold milk, then the cooled espresso.
-
Spoon the cloud on top
Pile the meringue above the rim and shape it with the back of a spoon so it peaks.
It holds for ten or fifteen minutes and melts gradually into the coffee as you drink. A dusting of cocoa over it is optional and looks right.
Why this works
A meringue is protein doing structural work. Whisking unfolds the proteins in egg white and they link into a film around each air bubble, which is what holds the foam up. Sugar then dissolves into the water between those films and thickens it, so the liquid drains out slowly and the foam lasts. That is why a meringue holds for a quarter of an hour where plain whipped egg white collapses in two minutes.
Acid is the stabiliser. Cream of tartar or lemon juice lowers the pH, which helps the proteins unfold and link without over-coagulating into a grainy, weeping mess. A quarter teaspoon is enough.
Aquafaba works for a reason that surprised food science when it was discovered around 2015. The liquid from a tin of chickpeas contains a mix of saponins and soluble proteins leached from the beans during cooking, and that combination happens to foam almost exactly like egg white. It whips a little slower and tastes faintly of chickpea until the sugar goes in, after which most people cannot tell.
On safety: this foam is not cooked, so use pasteurised carton egg white rather than cracking a shell egg. The salmonella risk from a raw shell egg is small but real, and it is entirely avoidable here. Aquafaba sidesteps it completely and is the easier choice if you are serving this to anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised.
Variations
Made it?
Ratings are the most useful thing you can leave. They tell me which recipes need another pass.
No ratings yet. Be the first.
Questions
Is it safe to use raw egg white?
Use pasteurised carton egg white rather than a shell egg, since this foam is never cooked. The risk from a raw shell egg is small but avoidable. Aquafaba removes the question entirely.
Why will my meringue not stiffen?
Almost always fat in the bowl, from a trace of yolk or a greasy whisk. Fat prevents the proteins forming a stable film. Wash and dry everything thoroughly and start again.
Does aquafaba really work?
Yes, remarkably well. The liquid from a tin of chickpeas contains saponins and soluble proteins that foam much like egg white. It takes slightly longer to whip and the chickpea flavour disappears once the sugar is in.
How long does the cloud last?
Ten to fifteen minutes on an iced drink, and about three on a hot one. The sugar is what holds it; a less sweet version collapses faster.