Cooking with Manuela: Berry and Cream over Meringue Cups

Bring a taste of summer to your table with these crispy meringue cups

filled with sweet berries and velvety rich whipped cream

Heavenly!

If you ask me, this is what heaven must taste like.
Just like a perfect mingle of sunshine sweet berries and silky whipped cream. Served up in a cloud-resembling dessert, perfectly crispy on the outside and dangerously soft on the inside.

And if you ask my kids, they'd tell you this is the best dessert they've ever eaten.
Their words, not mine 😊
Technically though, it's not the first time they've said that. But still, I'm pretty sure this dessert makes it to their top five. And for very good reasons!
This luscious piece of heaven (that's what it really should be called) has naturally sweet berries, rich and fluffy whipped cream, and a light and airy homemade meringue on the bottom which truly melts in your mouth when hitting your tastebuds.

Now, let's discuss how you can make this unbelievable dessert in your own kitchen.

It's relatively easy to whip up, as long as you follow few simple directions.

So please, please, pleeeease keep reading!

I suggest leaving the egg whites at room temperature for 30 minutes or longer before starting, so they whip up better.

Before beating, add a little lemon juice to the egg whites to get a firmer meringue.

And make sure to beat the egg whites for several minutes, until you get glossy stiff peaks.

I have a simple test you can try that will tell you if you whipped the egg whites enough.

Watch my video and you will see... But be careful when you try it at home. You really don't want to end up with gooey egg whites all over your counter :)

I suggest baking the meringues at low temperature - not higher than 200°F = 90°C, for one hour and a half. At this point, turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside to dry up, for at least an hour or longer.

The good thing about this recipe is that you can prepare the meringues ahead of time, which is the only time consuming part of the recipe.

Store them at room temperature in an air-tight container (not in the refrigerator or they'll get sticky).

Top the meringues with whipped cream and berries right before serving. You can also try them with ice-cream, custard cream, mousse... and any of your favorite fruit.

Enjoy :)

INGREDIENTS:

YIELD: 10 cups

- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1 cup of powder sugar
- 1 ½cups (350 ml) of heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
- strawberries and blueberries (or your favorite fruit)

PREPARATION:

TIME: 20 minutes to prepare, plus 1 and 1/2 hours to bake and 1 hour inactive

Separate the egg white from the yolks and leave them at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C).
Add half teaspoon of lemon juice to the egg whites and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and stiff. Start with low speed and increase the speed after a couple of minutes.
Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites while beating.

Continues whisking for several minutes until fluffy and you get glossy, stiff peaks.

Here is a test you can do to see if you have done enough. Carefully flip the bowl upside down and nothing will fall out. Please, be careful :)

Using the top of a glass (or other round shaped object) mark one side of parchment paper with 10 circles (mine are 3 inches in diameter).

Flip the parchment paper, so that the marking are facing down. and line a baking sheet.

Pipe the mixture in small round shapes on the prepared paper. Starting from the center of each circle, pipe a layer to fill your circle. And continue piping along the perimeter of the circle, three times around to make the sides of the cup.