Raspberry & Lemon Curd Meringue Nests

Looking for an easy dessert that is perfect for the summer? These Raspberry & Lemon Curd Meringue Nests look impressive without loads of effort. 

A simple dessert that tastes and looks great

I’m a big fan of desserts that look and taste great but don’t take lots of effort. This is especially true in the summer when you’d rather be out enjoying the sunshine rather than spending all day in the kitchen. 

These Raspberry & Lemon Curd Meringue Nests are easy enough to make for a weekend dessert, but fancy enough to serve at a dinner party. 

Don’t be afraid of making meringues

I know a lot of people are nervous about making meringues, but there really is no need to be. 

Once you have got used to what they should look and feel like along the process you will be well away and can make lots of meringue creations. 

If you want to start with something a little more simple, try my Meringue Kisses.        

Meringue baking tips

Meringues are simple to make but there are a few tips worth knowing. 

Before you start, make sure your equipment is really clean. If there is any grease in your bowl it will be much harder for the egg whites to whip up properly. 

Make sure you don’t cook the meringues at a temperature that is too high. If you cook them too hot, they are likely to become slightly brown in colour. 

Cook them at a low temperature and you should have a lovely white meringue nest. 

It is important to leave your meringues to cool completely in the oven. This helps to reduce the risk in your meringues cracking. 

Tips for whipping cream

Although whipping cream is a simple thing to do, it can easily go wrong!

I like to use a whisk attachment and slowly whisk my cream. Make sure you keep watching as the cream whips because it can change in a minute!

You are looking for a thick, smooth texture but if you whip too much you could end up with lumpy cream. 

You can use double cream or whipping cream to make whipped cream. You may also know these as heavy cream. Either will work perfectly for this recipe. 

Can I make these without an electric whisk?

Yes you definitely can, but personally I wouldn’t want to!

These meringue nests do require quite a lot of whisking which would definitely be a work out by hand!

An electric whisk or whisk attachment to a stand mixer would make your life a lot easier. 

Can I make these in advance?

You can make the meringue nests a couple of days in advance. Once they have cooled, store them in an airtight container.

You can also whip the cream up a good few hours in advance. Just store this in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. 

Don’t be tempted to assemble these too far in advance though as the cream will soften the meringues. Instead of having the lovely crispness of the meringues they would be disappointingly soft. 

Which lemon curd is best to use?

If you want to go the extra mile, you can make your own lemon curd. This is definitely the recipe to make your own if you fancy it because you will have the egg yolks leftover ready to use.

Personally, I think using a good quality shop bought lemon curd is perfectly acceptable.

It helps add a lovely fresh flavour to cut through the richness of the cream – yum. 

Can I swap the flavours?

Yes, absolutely!

You can use a huge variety of different fruit in these meringue nests. Blueberries would go really well with the lemon curd to create a delicious flavour combination. 

Instead of the lemon curd, you could mix some vanilla bean paste through the cream. You could then swap the raspberries for strawberries. 

If you fancy making them a little more tropical, you could add mango chunks and passion fruit pulp. 

Are strawberries more your thing? Why not try my Eton Mess with Meringue Kisses. 

Do I have to use a piping nozzle?

No you don’t need to. 

I used a piping nozzle with small ridges to my finished meringue nests had a nice pattern on them. 

But you don’t need to use a piping nozzle. You can just snip the end in your piping bag so you have a hole approximately 1cm. 

I you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a sandwich bag and cut the corner off. 

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