Ingredients
Meringues
- 2 egg whites (keep one of the yolks for the lemon curd!)
- 1/2 cup castor sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp cornflour
Lemon curd
- 1 eggs, plus one yolk
- 1/3 cup castor sugar
- 40g butter
- 1 lemons, zest and juice
- 400ml good quality whipping cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 200g raspberries (fresh or defrosted frozen)
Method
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 140°C and line a tray with parchment paper.
- In a spotlessly clean electric mixer bowl, add egg whites and whisk on high until light and frothy. Start adding the castor sugar a little at a time while continuing to whisk. Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy, add vanilla extract and vinegar then turn the mixer onto low. Sieve the cornflour into the eggs and mix until incorporated.
- Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and dab a small amount of mixture on the underside of the parchment paper and stick it down to the tray. This will prevent the paper from moving around. Using a large round nib (I used #12), pipe round mounds with peaks onto the lined tins. It doesn’t matter if they don’t look perfect as they’ll all eventually be smashed up! Bake for 30 minutes, on the top rung, then swap over to the bottom and let cook for another 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in until cooled (1 hour) then remove.
- While the meringues are baking, you’ll need to prepare the lemon curd. Add egg, yolk and sugar to a small saucepan and whisk until smooth. Add butter, zest and juice of the lemon and place the pan on the lowest heat (you don’t want the eggs to scramble!). Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and remove from heat. You’ll only need a few teaspoons per dessert so depending on how lemony you want you dessert, you may have left over lemon curd. Placed any excess into a sterilized jar, which should last up to 2 weeks.
- Next, whip cream and icing sugar until it’s thick and can be dolloped. Add half of the berries and roughly mix. Whip the cream some more if it’s become looser after adding the berries. To assemble, roughly crush some meringue and add to a dessert glass – it looks better when you can see the different layers of colour. Next add a dollop of lemon curd, a dollop of cream and add a few raspberries. Repeat again with meringue, lemon curd, cream and berries. Serve immediately.
** This is a great dessert to part-prepare ahead of time. The meringues will last in an air-tight container for a few days and the lemon curd will last up to two weeks. You’ll just have to whip the cream and assemble when required.
Recipe and Photography by Emily Fitzgerald of Adeline and Lumiere.