Mmmm …. What a great dessert combination!! Light and sweet meringue with the tartness of the lemon curd. A great recipe for EASTER month!!
First of all before I write about this delicious dessert, I want to give a shoutout to my Mom and Dad!! They are celebrating their 48th (48th y’all!!!) Anniversary today!!!! I am so blessed to have them as my parents and I couldn’t ask for a better pair of wonderful people in my life. They are a great role model and I love them oh so much!!! Thank you Mama and Papa and congratulations on 48 year of love!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ok back to the recipe. This recipe has 2 parts and they are better if you make them 1 day ahead. The meringue will need some time to dry out and the lemon curd will need some time to set. It’s a great make ahead dessert when you’re having people over because once you made the meringue and the curd, it’s just a quick piping and voila!! Meringue Nest!!
To make the meringue, you will start with a stand mixer with the wire attachment. Beat the egg whites and salt until it becomes foamy.
Add the cream of tartar then beat again until it becomes soft peak form.
Look at that beautiful foam!!! I love it!!!
While the machine is on, add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Then keep beating until it becomes stiff peak. Once it’s stiff peak, add vanilla extract and whisk again.
It should look glossy and if you put your bowl upside down, the egg white should stay in the bowl.
Pipe the egg white to make a nest.
Bake the nest in a 225 degree oven for 1 hour. Leave the meringue in the oven overnight to dry out.
Now the curd is soooooo easy to make but it’s not one of those multitask, “I’ll make it while I …” Uh uh …. You need to drop everything and pay complete attention to it!!
Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and salt in a saucepan.
Put the saucepan on a medium heat and whisk again until it thickens up. Now this is why we cannot leave the stove. If you leave it, the egg can scramble and it would ruin the curd. So you need to be at the stove and really watch the curd. It will take about 10-15 minutes.
After the curd is done, you want to strain it so that it will separate the impurities from the curd. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours to overnight to set.
Once the meringue is set and the curd is set, spoon or pipe the lemon curd on to the middle of the nest.
And you have delicious meringue nest with lemon curd center!!! And you might wonder, why do I put this in Easter month? It’s because Easter is about new life and that is why you see eggs around Easter and we do Easter egg hunts. Now doesn’t this look like sunny side eggs?!?! ?
Well, Happy Easter again and enjoy this sweet and tart combination as your dessert!!
Happy Baking!!!
| Servings |
|
- 3 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 lemons zested
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar
- 5 large eggs
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 5 large eggs
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup butter
Ingredients
Meringue Nest
Lemon Curd
|
|
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer bowl and using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt until it becomes foamy.
- Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peak form.
- While the mixer is in low speed, add the superfine sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until it's all mixed in. Keep mixing until the egg whites becomes a stiff peak form.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix evenly.
- Pour in a pastry bag with a flower piping tip and pipe it to make a nest.
- Bake for about 1 hour. Shut off the oven. Leave the meringues in the oven to dry out. After it's cooled, store in an airtight container.
- In a saucepan, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, white sugar, eggs and salt until combined.
- Place saucepan on burner and put the stove to medium heat.
- Stay with the saucepan and whisk continually for 15 minutes. This is to prevent egg from curdling. Curd will begin to thicken between 10 and 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove from heat. Add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, and keep whisking until all the butter are completely mixed in.
- Pour curd through a fine mesh strainer. This will remove the zest and any partially cooked egg.
- Chill the curd for 3 hours or overnight before using. You want the curd to be nice and thick.
- Once the meringue is dry overnight and the curd is set, pipe a little lemon curd in the middle of the meringue nest.
Adapted from : Mums the word and Food Network
