Meringue Nests with Berries
Introduction
Serves: Makes 12-15 meringues nests
Ingredients
150g (5 oz) caster (confectioner’s) sugar
½ double cup cream
1 cup Greek honey or plum flavoured yoghurt
Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries for serving
Method
Preheat oven to 130°C (260°F). Whisk egg whites in a totally greasefree copper, china, glass or stainless steel bowl until they are stiff and can stand in peaks on an upturned whisk. Add 2 tablespoons of the measured sugar and whisk in for 30 seconds. Sprinkle over the rest of the sugar and fold it in carefully with a large metal spoon.
2 Shape meringue into mounds on a baking sheet (tray) lined with baking (parchment) paper, using two spoons, or spoon meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large plain ‘éclair’ nozzle and pipe out shapes. Bake for at least one hour, or until meringues are a pale caramel colour and feel crisp and will lift off the baking paper without feeling tacky. Tap a little hole in the base of each meringue with a skewer and return meringues to the turned-off oven to dry out; leave for 1-2 hours if possible, then store airtight until ready to use.
3 To make the yoghurt cream, whip cream just until holding shape, then fold into the yoghurt, leaving the mixture a little streaky. To serve, put meringues on plates, gently smash the tops to make a cavity for the yoghurt cream, pile cream onto meringues, then spoon berries over the cream. For the berries, simply slice strawberries and mix with other berries and a little icing sugar to taste.
Recipe Notes
To clean a copper bowl, sprinkle in non-iodised salt or flaky sea salt (not coarse rock salt) and spread it around the insides of the bowl with a large wedge of lemon. Add more salt as required, rubbing it in to remove the oxidisation. Rinse bowl thoroughly and either air dry or dry with a grease-free cotton cloth.
