Meringue Jubilee Crowns with lemon curd cream and berries.
Next week we all can enjoy the lovely extra long weekend and I reckon these meringue crowns are a perfect crowd-pleaser for any Jubilee celebrations!
Jill Stewart (@jillbakes_)
County Antrim Foodie and Instagrammer
INGREDIENTS…
• For the meringue:
4 large egg whites
210g caster sugar
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
• For decoration:
250g strawberries, washed & quartered and blueberries
6 raspberries
250ml double cream, lightly whipped
125g lemon curd (homemade or you could use a bought curd)
Edible silver glitter spray or icing sugar
INSTRUCTIONS…
1. Preheat the oven to 80 degrees fan. Line two trays with baking parchment. Prepare a large piping bag with a large star nozzle.
2. Clean the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment using white wine vinegar on a sheet of kitchen roll.
3. Whisk the egg whites on a medium speed in the stand mixer for about 5 minutes until soft peaks form.
4. Then increase the speed to high and slowly add the sugar 1 tsp at a time - it will take about 7-8 minutes to add all the sugar. Add the white wine vinegar and vanilla and continue mixing for a few minutes until stiff peaks form.
5. Transfer the meringue to the piping bag. Pipe six spiral circles on one of the baking trays. Pipe 2-3 circles on top of each of the circles to create a nest shape.
6. Squeeze the piping nozzle out of the bag (you may need to cut it off). On the other baking tray, pipe seven adjoining peaks in a circle to form a ‘crown’. Repeat this until you have six crowns.
7. Bake the nests for 2-2 1/2 hours in the bottom of the oven until they are dry and you can lift off the baking paper. The ‘crowns’ will only take around 1 1/2 hours so remove after this time. Once the nests are cooked, return the crowns to the oven and turn the oven off. Leave to cool in the oven overnight or for at least a few hours.
The meringues will keep unfilled for about 2 weeks in an airtight container.
8. Spoon 1 tsp of the lemon curd into each of the nests.
9. In a large bowl, lightly whip the cream with a whisk. Add 2 tbsp lemon curd and lightly combine so that it marbles through. Spoon or pipe this into the centres of the meringue nests.
10. Press the strawberries and blueberries into the outside of the cream. Add a tsp of the lemon curd on top of the cream in the middle. Press the meringue crown on top gently. Add a raspberry into the centre of each crown. Dust with edible silver glitter spray or icing sugar.
MEET JILL STEWART…
Jill Stewart, from Portglenone, is a true Foodie who brings her passions together to create a unique balance of both healthy dishes and sweet treats on her Instagram social media blog, Jill Bakes.
Jill is passionate about creating and sharing recipes on her Instagram platform (@jillbakes_) which are easy to follow, quick to make and not using hundreds of ingredients! And with almost 15,000 followers, a lot of people are enjoying Jill’s food journey.
The County Antrim lady has been a keen baker from a very young age, learning many skills from her late Grandma who was a fantastic baker.
Jill is a regular recipe contributor for Ireland’s Homes Interiors and Living magazine.
Head over to INSTAGRAM to discover JILL BAKES by pressing the button below - it is a fantastic blog where you'll discover enough inspiration to keep you baking and cooking for months!