Scrumptious, light, cute yet so elegant, these beautiful meringue nests are also super easy to make. In this post you’ll find all the tips you need to nail them perfectly every single time.
Delightfully crunchy, these meringue shells melt on your tongue and their flavour is contained to being sweet with the slightest hint of lemon so they’re the perfect vessel for any number of light and fresh fillings. These are lovely filled with cream and fresh fruit – such a classic filling – but get creative with other fillings too.
At their most basic, meringues are a mixture of egg whites and sugar whipped until thick, smooth and glossy then baked slowly until they’re dried out and crisp. Sometimes the interior is left a little chewy but they can be baked until they’re crisp throughout (the way the shop-bought ones are).
Try these raspberry swirl meringues too.
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Ingredients
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
So, sugar and egg whites are an absolute must and as a general rule, you’ll want ¼ cup of sugar for every egg white. The egg whites are best measured in volume or weight rather than by the egg since egg sizes vary and it can make a difference to how your meringue nests turn out. And make sure they’re fresh egg whites at room temperature.
The acidity from a little cream of tartar, lemon juice or vinegar helps the thicken and stabilise the egg whites and while you could skip it in this meringue nests recipe, it always gets a better result with it. Using lemon juice also adds a slight hint of lemon flavour which is lovely. You can also add some vanilla extract if you like for flavouring, though I tend to steer away from flavourings as they can cause your meringue to turn golden in the oven rather than staying the classic white.
How to make meringue nests
While some people find making meringue and pavlova intimidating, it really isn’t once you know the rules. With this step-by-step guide, you’ll discover how incredibly easy they are to make. I can whip these up as I’m milling around the kitchen doing other things. These mini pavlova shells are made using the French meringue method.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Whip egg whites to soft peaks
Start by whipping the egg whites on the medium setting of your stand mixer or handheld mixer until they reach soft peaks. If using a stand-mixer, you want to be using your whisk attachment. This will take about 4-5 minutes and soft peaks means that when you lift the beater out, slowly, the tip of the peak in the egg whites will fall over.
2. Add sugar
Add the lemon juice (or vinegar) first and beat that through, then start adding the sugar a little at a time. I have a really specific way of doing this that results in perfect meringue nests (and indeed pavlova) every single time. Take a regular dessert spoon and, with the mixer running on low, tip a spoonful of sugar into the egg whites. Now count to 20 as if you’re counting seconds. Add another spoonful of sugar and keep repeating this process until all the sugar is added.
It’s so important to add the sugar slowly like this otherwise your egg whites will just deflate.
3. Beat to stiff peaks
Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer up to medium-high (not the highest setting) and beat for another 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form. The meringue will be thick and glossy. In addition, rub a little of the meringue between your finger and thumb and it should be completely smooth, not grainy. If grainy, beat a little longer.
4. Create the nests
You just made meringue! See, easy peasy. Now you want to shape it into little rounds on a baking paper lined large baking sheet. I draw circles on the baking paper by running a non-toxic pencil around the inside of an 7.5cm/3in circle cookie cutter. This recipe makes 12 meringue shells so you can draw 6 circles per sheet.
You have two options here – either pipe the meringue nests shape or simply spoon it on.
- To pipe it, add the mixture to a piping bag with an open star tip and pipe in a spiral from the centre out to the edge of the circle. Once you get to the edge, continue to pipe a wall on top of the meringue all the way around the edge.
- To spoon it, use a ⅓ cup volume cookie scoop or just a dessert spoon to scoop the mixture onto your baking sheet, then simply shape the meringue into a nest with higher edges and a dent in the centre.
I’ve done 8 on my baking sheet below simply because I’d rather cook as many in the middle of the oven as possible. The second tray goes on the bottom shelf where it can be a bit hotter.
5. Bake
Now, bake the meringue nests in a low oven for 1 ½ hours until they’re dry and crisp. I find using a fan forced oven results in whiter meringue nests than a conventional oven. You want to cool them slowly in the oven too so they don’t crack.
Fillings for meringue nests
Now, what to do with meringue nests? They’re pretty irresistible just as they are to me, but now you can get creative with ways to fill them.
- Cream and fruit: Whipped cream and berries or fruit is an absolute classic topping for meringue nests. Berries like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries are gorgeous but kiwi fruit or slices of mango are lovely too. Choose your favourite fruits.
- Cream and curd: Try whipped cream topped with one of these fruit curds;
- Mousse: Mousse is another great option for a filling for this meringue nests recipe. Try chocolate mousse or strawberry mousse with sliced strawberries on top.
- Pastry cream: For an extra-indulgent filling, try this creme patissiere, chocolate pastry cream or chocolate cremeux.
And with so many filling options, why not turn your mini meringues into mini pavlovas and serve it up as a pavlova grazing board – always a winner at parties.
Storage
Store your baked and cooled meringue shells in an airtight container in a cool place like the pantry – not the fridge. I store mine in my linen cupboard. They keep really well like this.
- Do meringues need to be refrigerated? No, they don’t. Sometimes the fridge will actually cause your meringues to soften or weep.
- Will meringue keep overnight? It will keep much longer than overnight – for weeks, in fact.
- How long can you store meringue nests? If baked through and stored correctly, these meringue nests will keep for 2-3 weeks. I’ve even kept them for two months and they were still fine though I don’t necessarily recommend doing that.
- Can I freeze meringue nests? Yes, you can. Very successfully. Once they’ve cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Troubleshooting
Fat or grease. Make sure the equipment you’re using to whip the egg whites is perfectly clean because a little grease can stop your egg whites from whipping. Traces of fat (for instance if part of the egg yolk snuck into the egg whites) will also stop egg whites from whipping properly. You can ensure your equipment is grease free by rubbing it with half a lemon or some vinegar and rinsing it out before drying.
The great thing with meringue is if you aren’t happy with your piping, maybe it’s a bit wonky, just scrape it up with a knife or spatula, add it back to the piping bag and go again. You can do this 2-3 times without ruining the meringue mixture.
Meringues need to bake at a very low temperature for a long time so they dry out as they cook not colouring at all. Meringue nests are ready as long as they’re dry all over and release easily from the baking paper. If they’re sticking to the paper, they’re probably not ready yet.
Fat and moisture. Fat will stop your egg whites from whipping. Water and humidity can cause meringue to weep.
If you can see cracks in your baked meringues, it may have been caused by overwhipping your meringue mixture but most often it is caused by sudden temperature changes. Opening the oven door early or not allowing them to cool for at least 1 hour in the turned off oven can cause cracking.
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Ingredients
- ½ cup egg whites (approximately 4 large eggs/115g), room temp (for best results use ½ cup or gram measurements here).
- 1 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar) (200g / 7oz)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or vinegar)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Standmixer (whisk attachment) or hand mixer
- Piping bag optional, not essential
- ⅓ cup volume ice cream scoop optional, not essential
- 2 Large baking sheets
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 120C (100C fan forced) / 245F.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper. On each piece of paper, trace around the edge of an 7.5cm/3 inch round cookie cutter with a pencil or non-toxic marker to make 6 circles on each one. Place the sheets, marked side down, onto the baking sheets.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld beater), beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form (4-5 minutes)
- Add the lemon juice and beat to incorporate.
- Turn the mixer down to low and begin adding the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, counting to 20 between each addition. Once all the sugar is added, increase to medium-high speed (not the highest setting) and continue to whisk until the egg whites are thick and glossy and at stiff peak stage.
- Test the mixture by rubbing a little between your finger and thumb. It should be smooth. If it is still grainy, keep beating until it is smooth when you test it.
- Take the first baking sheet and dot little bits of meringue under the corners of the baking paper then press it down onto the tray. Repeat with the second tray. This will hold it down while you pipe.
- You have two options to create your shapes. The first is piping and the second is with a spoon. can pipe the meringue onto the sheet or use a large spoon to create dollops then using the back of the spoon to create a dip or crater in the centre.
- If you want to pipe, add half of the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with an open star tip about 1 ½cm. Starting in the centre of one of your drawn circles, pipe the meringue in a spiral. When you get to the outside edge, continue piping around the edge on top of the meringue already there to create a wall around the edge, so you have a crater or dip in the centre for your fillings.
- Or with a spoon, just use a large dessert spoon or ⅓ cup volume ice cream scoop to spoon mounds of meringue onto the paper inside the circle templates. Use a spoon or offset spatula to coax them into more circular shapes then use the back of the spoon if you need and to create a dip or crater in the centre.
- If you aren’t happy with any of your shapes, just scrape them up and start again. You can do this 2-3 times without ruining the meringue mixture.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 ½ hours then turn the heat off and leave the meringue nests in the oven, undisturbed, for at least 1 hour (notes).
- See notes for topping ideas.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Toppings: A classic topping is just some whipped cream or chantilly cream with fresh fruit, like gorgeous berries, mango or kiwi fruit. Get creative though, try some cream, maraschino cherries and chocolate shavings for a black forest vibe, or how about cream with custard, jam or lemon curd. Yum.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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4 Comments on “Meringue Nests”
I made these for individual pavlovas for my book club. They were so easy! And they tasted delicious!
I’m so happy you love them, Ann. Thanks so, so much for dropping back to leave a review.
thanks I’m having 4 girls here tomorrow to do cooking for the 2 hours this will be a great recipe for them.
Excellent idea. Hope you all love them.