recipes • Breakfast & Brunch
Meringue with fresh fruit
I will confess in all honesty: I am not the best baker. If my life would depend on it perhaps I could make a 2 tier cake with some half decent decoration. But it will for sure not win a beauty contest.
That said, I do have to create an amazing looking dessert every now and then and I believe that even if you’re not going for ‘the worlds best pastry chef’ you can still put a pretty amazing center piece dessert on the table, that will look and taste amazing. And that’s what you’ll be doing with this recipe.
Little side note talking about the best pastry chefs. If you haven’t seen it, watch this documentary: Kings of Pastry.
It is amazing, heartbreaking and entertaining. And it gives you a whole new appreciation for the true patisserie masters of this world.
Now back to me, the ‘not so skilled pastry chef’.
I’ve created this meringue with fruit that does not only look amazing, it also taste very good. Plus it is pretty fail proof.
As long as you manage to make a great meringue, you are 90% there.
And since you are going to decorate it, the meringue doesn’t even have to look amazing, as long as the taste is there.
In order to do that there are a few things to keep in mind:
1. You have to use a squeaky clean bowl and utensils to mix your meringue
2. Add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar whilst your whisking the egg whites
3. Leave the meringue to cool down completely in the oven
The time hack on this dessert: you can make the meringue up to 3 days ahead and store it in an airtight container. This means you only have to pipe the creme on top and decorate with fruit, just before serving (which will take you about 10min).
Buon appetito,
Su
ingredients
- 1. Meringue
- 3 egg whites (large eggs), room temperature
- 140gr of white (fine) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (this will color the meringue a bit, so if you like it bright white, skip this ingredient)
- pinch of salt
- A few drops of lemon of lime juice
- 2. Cream base
- 340gr of full fat Greek yoghurt
- 50ml of whipped cream
- Optional: finely grated skin of 1 lime
- 3. Topping
- All the fresh fruit you like!
I always recommend anything that is in season and as local as possible. The more colors the better. I’ve used strawberries, blueberries & blackberries - A large handful of su.sana granola: you choose, either chocolate or the coconut, both work!
- A few sprigs of fresh mint
- a bit of icing sugar, 2 table spoons
preperation
1. meringue
Turn the oven on at 150 degrees Celsius.
first and important note for the meringue: all your utensils (from bowl to spoons etc) need to be super clean and grease free. I always give everything I am going to use a quick wash, just in case. Otherwise your meringue will not get nice and fluffy.I recommend not using a plastic bowl.
Start by separating the eggs, and place the egg whites in a bowl.
Use an electric mixer or kitchen baking machine on slow speed and mix until the eggs have become bubbly.
Then switch the machine to medium speed until the egg whites start to transform into beautiful white stiff peaks.At this point, start adding the sugar. The important thing here, is to add the sugar in small amounts (a table spoon) at a time. Until all the sugar is mixed in and dissolved. Then add the vanilla essence & a few drops of lime juice, and mix one last time.
Cover an oven plate with baking paper and spoon the mixture on there.If you are making small ones for the kids, keep some of the batter and make some smaller cakes at the side.
Place the baking tray in the oven and turn it down to 140 degrees.
Bake the meringue for 1h15.Turn off the oven but let the meringue cool down in the oven. This will take a while, roughly 3h.
2. Cream base
Whip the cream till it’s a thick mixture the same consistency as your Greek yoghurt.
Gently mix the whipped cream and yoghurt (and add the grated lime).3. Now for the fun decorating part!
Put your meringue base on a nice plate and pipe on the cream base. If you don’t have a piping bag, just put the cream in a small plastic bag, cut of the tip and use this as your piping bag (this is what I did).
Or keep it more rustic and simply spoon the cream mixture on your meringue base.
Now add all the fresh fruit you like. Sprinkle over your favorite su.sana granola for a nice little crunch, fresh mint and some icing sugar.
Serve immediately.
Ps. I like to have quite a thick layer of cream on my meringue. But feel free to add as little or as much according to your taste.
- All the fresh fruit you like!