My wife made some meringues for a party on Saturday. They went soggy very shortly after putting the cream in. That wouldn't happen to a commercially made meringue. What is the difference?

What was her recipe?

I know www.allrecipes.com is an excellent source. They have recipes for everything, tips and comments. Maybe if you don't get any answers you could look there.

For starters, cooking disaster odds are mulitplied by the number of guests when you are cooking for company... any seasoned host knows that LOL She will likely know to stock a good chocolate mint ice cream as back up next time. I suspect the common mistake of allowing fat to contaminate when whipping up the egg whites since the merest amount will do. I like the tips from the website Aqua gave and here are some specifically about the perfect meringue (http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/baking/articles/217P1.asp)!

Cream? Why was cream being used on meringues? Any cream will have moisture in it, which will dissolve a meringue. If you've seen whipped cream on commercial meringues, chances are it's not really cream, but instead an edible oil product like cool whip.

My wife made some meringues for a party on Saturday. They went soggy very shortly after putting the cream in. That wouldn't happen to a commercially made meringue. What is the difference?
Hi- maybe u can try folding in -if you haven't already- a bit of cornstarch. Maybe about 5%? Or alternatively spread a bit of jam before you add the cream/icing- will act as a buffer... hope it helps