About the bake
Vanilla meringues are a stable to any summer dessert, dress them up with fresh fruit, super size them to make a pavlova slathered in vanilla cream or simply crunch into a delightful Eton Mess. The possibilities are endless.
Our favourite tip is to make the meringues in advance to save time, they will keep in an airtight container for several days when kept in a cool, dark place. We've included one of our useful videos below showing you how to separate eggs for the meringues.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 140°C (fan 130°C, gas mark 1). Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
Step 2:
In a large, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks, then slowly whisk in the caster sugar, a quarter at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy.
Step 3:
Spoon a third of the egg mixture into a separate bowl and beat in the vanilla extract. Using a metal spoon, carefully fold this back into the rest of the egg mixture, then gently fold in the sifted icing sugar too.
Step 4:
Spoon two tablespoons of the meringue mixture onto the prepared baking trays and place them in the oven before lowering the oven temperature to 120°C (fan 110°C gas mark 1/2).
Step 5:
Bake for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off but leave the meringue in the oven to cool completely before removing, (overnight is ideal).
Step 6:
To make the vanilla cream, whisk the double cream with the vanilla bean paste and icing sugar until soft peaks form. Serve the meringues with strawberries and vanilla cream. For an extra touch, blend down some strawberries to make a sauce to drizzle on top.
Ingredients
For the Meringues
- 4 Large free range egg white(s)
- A pinch Cream of tartar
- 125g Silver Spoon White caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 100g Icing sugar (sifted)
For the Vanilla Cream
- 200ml Double cream
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1 tbsp Icing sugar (sifted)
For the Topping
- 150g Strawberries
Utensils
- 2x Baking trays
- Parchment paper
- Whisk
Recipe Reviews
Really good - used Golden Icing sugar and got a really nice flavour and colour
Ingredients
For the Meringues
- 4 Large free range egg white(s)
- A pinch Cream of tartar
- 125g Silver Spoon White caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 100g Icing sugar (sifted)
For the Vanilla Cream
- 200ml Double cream
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1 tbsp Icing sugar (sifted)
For the Topping
- 150g Strawberries
Utensils
- 2x Baking trays
- Parchment paper
- Whisk