Boiled White Icing

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Mix sugar and water and bring to a boil.
• Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, until the steam has washed down any crystals which may have formed on the sides of the pan.
• Uncover and cook to 238°F to 240°F.
• At this temperature, the syrup will spin a very fine thread on the end of a coarser thread. This final thread will almost disappear, like a self-consuming spider web.
• Mix egg whites and salt until frothy.
• Add the syrup in a thin stream, whipping eggs constantly.
• When these ingredient are all combined, add the cream of tartar or lemon juice and vanilla.