Cardamom meringue nests

Let your guests fill these sweetly spiced meringues at the table with our suggested flavoured creams

  • Prep:50 mins
    Cook:1 hrs 15 mins
    Plus cooling
  • Serves 10
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 145
  • fat 0g
  • saturates 0g
  • carbs 34g
  • sugars 35g
  • fibre 0g
  • protein 2g
  • salt 0.1g

Ingredients

  • 6 egg whites
  • 350g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp cardamom powder
  • 1 tsp cocoa

Tip

Chestnut & chocolate cream filling
Melt 125g chopped dark chocolate in 20-second blasts in the microwave, then cool. Mix 400ml crème fraîche with 6 tbsp sweetened chestnut purée and stir in the cool melted chocolate.Passion fruit & mango cream filling
Scoop the pulp from 8 large passion fruit into a pan and add 1 chopped mango. Cook over a high heat for about 5 mins until thick and pulpy, then sieve to remove seeds. Whisk 200g mascarpone cheese with 2 tbsp icing sugar and 100ml double cream. When thickened, stir in the fruit purée.White chocolate & pistachio cream filling
Bring a pan of water to the boil, add 50g shelled pistachio kernels and set aside for 10 mins. Drain, rub the skins off with a clean tea towel, then finely chop. Melt 125g chopped white chocolate in 20-second blasts in the microwave, then cool. Lightly whip 284ml double cream with 2 tbsp icing sugar. Stir in the melted chocolate and chopped pistachios.
MPU 2

Method

  1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Put egg whites in a clean bowl and beat with an electric whisk until they resemble stiff peaks. While whisking, add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time – meringue will thicken and become glossy. Fold in cardamom.

  2. Using a metal spoon, dollop small spoonfuls of meringue, evenly spaced, onto the baking sheets, to make around 48 mini meringues. With the back of the spoon, lightly flatten and hollow out the centres. Sieve a dusting of cocoa over them and bake for 1 hr until crisp. Turn off the oven and leave meringues in the oven to cool. Pile high on a plate and serve with flavoured creams (see tips below).

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