Summer berry meringues
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- More effort
Ingredients
For the meringue nests
- 3 egg whites
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 150g caster sugar
For the rippled cream
- 200ml tub crème fraîche
- 200ml natural yogurt
- 300g strawberry, hulled
- 250g raspberry
- small bunch mint, leaves stripped and finely chopped
- small knob fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 5 tbsp icing sugar (you may not need it all)
- 9 little sprigs of mint and icing sugar, to decorate
Method
- STEP 1
Heat oven to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼. Tip the egg whites and lemon juice into the clean bowl of a food mixer. Whisk until the whites double in volume and hold a peak when the whisk is drawn through them. Keep the whisk running and add the sugar a tbsp at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next. Whisk until all the sugar has been added and the whites are glossy.
- STEP 2
Place a square of baking parchment on a large baking sheet. Pencil nine circles, about 7cm each, onto the parchment. Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe concentric rounds to fit each drawn circle, piping two or more rings around the edge to form a nest. Bake for 2 hrs until they are crisp and lift off the paper easily. Leave to cool completely.
- STEP 3
Whisk the crème fraîche until stiff, then fold in the yogurt. Set 2 strawberries and 9 raspberries aside and roughly chop the rest. Tip the chopped berries, mint and ginger into a bowl. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and use a wooden spoon to mash to a rough purée. Gently fold the berries into the yogurt mix, adding icing sugar to taste.
- STEP 4
To assemble, cut the remaining strawberries into 9 slices and place a slice inside each meringue case. Generously share the rippled cream between the cases, then top with a raspberry and a mint sprig. Dust with a little icing sugar just before serving. ( Meringues keep in an airtight container for 2 days.)
