This past Easter weekend has been one of the best since I can remember (hello, sunshine!), and one of the things we accomplished on Sasha’s request was to have a go at making a dessert, specifically meringues. I hadn’t made meringues for yonks, so rather than just one big pavlova we settled on making some mini fruit meringues (although they ended up not quite so mini!), which I thought would be an easy introduction to making them, and then she could also decorate them with fruit afterwards.
This recipe obviously involves a lot of whisking, and whilst you can use a hand whisk (which I feel you need to at least have a go at as a child, ’tis a right of passage don’t you know), I must admit we felt that the Kitchen Aid was a bit of a godsend when it came to stiffening the egg whites and later the cream.
Here is how we made 12 not-so-mini meringue nests! (you can also see some of my other desserts here)
- 4 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 300ml Double Cream
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 450g Berries - strawberries, raspberries & blueberries
- Heat the oven to 110C, 225F
- Then line two baking trays with baking parchment, cut to size
- Separate the egg whites from the yolk, and then whisk the egg whites until thick and the whites form stiff peaks
- Add a heaped teaspoon of sugar to the egg whites
- Then, keep adding spoonfuls of sugar and whisking them in until all the sugar has been added
- To make the nests, scoop up a spoonful of the meringue mixture with a dessertspoon and place on the baking tray
- Using the back of the teaspoon, make a shallow hollow in the middle of the meringue mixture
- Put the meringue nests in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off leaving them inside
- After 15 minutes carefully lift them out
- Leave the nests on the baking trays to cool
- Meanwhile, whip the cream and the vanilla together until thickened
- Wash the berries and dry them in a paper towel, then when the nests are cold fill the hollow in each one and decorate them with berries
