Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, served in small portions, very sweet and topped with a contrastingly sour lemon curd. Those mini meringues with lemon curd are a perfect recipe for when you want to wow your guests on a hot summer day.
I have a genuine weakness for meringues (okay, scratch that, I have a weakness for just about any cake). But despite that weakness I know that sometimes, making a full-on Pavlova and then eating it all can feel overwhelming. That’s why I decided to go for these Mini Meringues and decorate them with Lemon Curd for a nice contrast in flavour. I guarantee you that making this recipe will bring a smile not only to your face, but also faces of those that you will treat to this dessert.
I have adapted this recipe from Kwestia Smaku, making my own tried & tested changes as I go along.
Tips for making these mini meringues with lemon curd
There’s one trick, to make sure a meringue always turns out great. Make sure you use a large bowl which is perfectly dry to mix the egg whites. You first need to mix egg whites for two to three minutes before you start adding sugar. Then, when you start incorporating sugar in always add the same amount of sugar mixing well after each portion. It should usually be one tablespoon of sugar at a time, mixed well for 30-40 seconds. It is very important not to change the proportion of sugar that you add because the recipe will not work. If you follow this general rule described here, the egg whites will stiffen and you will be able to shape the mini meringues easily.
Mini Meringues with Lemon Curd
Ingredients
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites (of large eggs)
- 220 g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 1 tsp potato starch
- 1 tsp vinegar (e.g. rice vinegar)
For the Lemon Curd
- 350 ml lemon juice (approx. 6 lemons)
- 200 ml water
- Lemon zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp potato starch
- 60 g sugar
- Mint leaves (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
For the Meringue
- Layer an oven-sized baking tray with parchment paper. Using an approx. 6-8cm (2-3 inch) diameter glass, with a pen draw out 6 circles. Flip the paper to the other side and leave it on the baking tray. Preheat the oven to 120°C (248F) – without fan.
- Place egg whites in a large bowl and measure out the sugar into a separate bowl. Beat the egg whites on a high speed mixer until egg whites stiffen (approx. 3 minutes). Next, start adding sugar, a tablespoon at a time, mixing for 30-40 seconds after each tablespoon [see notes above]. When all sugar is added, mix everything for 2 more minutes.
- Add vanilla, potato starch and vinegar and mix everything on medium speed for 1 more minute.
- Using a spoon, scoop out mixed egg whites to the centre of each circle. Gently press the middle so that it creates a little dip and with a spatula raise up the edges.
- Place the mini meringues in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 120°C (248F). Next, decrease the temperature to 100°C (212F) and dry the meringues for 2 more hours.
- After this time, take the meringues out of the oven and let them cool completely before topping with lemon curd and serving.
For the Lemon Curd
- In a small pot mix together lemon juice, water and lemon zest (before zesting the lemon wash it properly and pour over with boiling water). Add potato starch, sugar and combine everything together. Bring the mixture to boil making sure to mix properly the entire time. When thickens, take it off the stove and cover with aluminum foil. Set aside until cools completely.
Decorating
- When the meringues have cooled completely, carefully take them off the parchment paper. Place a 2-3 tbsp (or more, depending on personal preference) of lemon curd in the middle of each meringue and spread very gently. Garnish with fresh mint leaves just before serving.
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