Making Meringue Desserts

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Pavolva Roulade

Summer and meringues go hand in hand, whether they are crisp and crumbly, a little chewy, marshmallow like or soft swirls topping fruit tarts.

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At its most basic meringue is simply sugar whisked into beating egg whites, the Swiss cook it over a bain maire, the French in the oven and the Italians make a glossy meringue from gently pouring a hot sugar syrup into the beating egg white (see our raspberry meringue tarts).

Making a perfect pavlova can be trickier than meringues but it is worth getting right, particularly in NZ where a pav on the Christmas table is almost mandatory.

For both meringues and pavlovas an electric mixer (either handheld or on a stand) is almost essential, unless you have muscles like Popeye that is.


raspberry meringue tartsMeringue tarts are hugely popular. Traditionally these are made with lemon filling but we also like them with Raspberry or strawberry and rhubarb. Try making your meringue topping the Italian style and see how luscious and glossy meringue can be.


Lemon and pistacho merguine tartsThese little Mini Lemon Meringue Pistachio Tarts are oh so sweet and perfect for a finger food dessert.
Macarons are also a great finger food dessert.  The flavours and colour combinations are extraordinary but we are pretty happy with these pink macarons and those with a sweet tooth may like to try macarons with salted caramel filling!


snowy white meringuesThese Perfect Meringues are exactly that.  Pure in form and aesthetically pleasing, these little clouds of pure white are what many of us think meringues are meant to be.  Serve alongside a mountain of berries and softly whipped cream or sandwich together with cream or ganache.


chewy chocolate meringuesChewy Chocolate Meringues take the meringue concept and change it round a bit. These are crisp on the outside, chewy in the centre and just the thing to serve alongside a cup of coffee or with freshly picked raspberries and cream. Having made quite a few hundred of these last summer, I can vouch for both the recipe and their popularity!

Of course you can flavour your meringues to suit your needs.  Here are some of our favourites.


Foodlovers website recipes, Helen Jackson, Christmas baking and summer food. Eton mess . Photos by Carolyn RobertsonAny broken meringues can be easily incorporated into desserts such as this Chocolate Semifreddo recipe or the popular Eton Mess.  If you like the semifreddo idea but feel the chocolate is a bit heavy then just swap the nougat for meringue in this Raspberry Semifreddo.


PavlovaOur video on making the perfect pavlova is great for those who like to learn by watching someone else do it. We also have a making the perfect pavlova feature that has heaps of tips for making fabulous pavlovas.  Once you have a good pavlova recipe at your finger tips then the rest is just a bit of practice.  Pavlovas can be made to share or individual such as these little pavlovas with berry coulis


Pavolva Roulade
And, if you want a variation on the regular pavlova or time is not on your side then pavlova roulade is quick, easy and super lovely – plus it freezes really well!   We have filled ours with mango and passionfruit but berries would of course look very festive and you can change the pistachio crust to almond flakes if you prefer.


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To help with your meringue making we are excited to have a Breville Scraper Mixer Pro in Black Sesame colour and with a recommended retail price of $739.95

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4 thoughts on “Making Meringue Desserts

  1. oh, to be able to make the perfect meringue and finally get rid of my 1970s electric hand mixer. its one of the old ones you push the two beaters into and i always struggle to keep a bowl turning properly to get just the right amount of air in my mix. you almost need two people to operate it properly!

  2. I make boxes of flavored mini meringues for Christmas gifts. People love them as they are gluten-free and they can either offer them to guests as a sweet treat on their own or use them to make a dessert.

  3. Twas a trip down memory lane watching Helen separating the egg whites from the yolks. When I was at intermediate I was frequently berated for my cooking methods during cooking classes. We were supposed to put the egg on a saucer and capture the yolk with a glass which I refused to do as it added to the dishes . . . yet despite my end products always coming out better than the class I would be marked down. Come Form 2 our cooking teacher had to give me top of the class despite my bad methods – the rest of the class had adopted ye tried and true crack the egg and pour it from shell to shell.
    I wonder if pupils are made to use a saucer and glass these days or maybe common sense prevails.

    • I’m no expert on modern education, but I thought practical hands-on cooking had disappeared? It gave me a great grounding in Forms 1&2 and it would be a great shame if so. They didn’t make me use the saucer and glass method either!:)