Strawberries and Cream Meringues

You will love my individual Strawberries and Cream Meringues. They are an easily made, elegant dessert with an exquisite balance of flavours and textures. The base of the dessert is a crispy meringue shell that has a slightly soft, chewy centre. It is the ideal vessel to hold the light and fluffy whipped strawberry cream as well as diced, perfectly ripe strawberries. A pour of easily made, vibrantly flavoured fresh strawberry sauce, is the perfect finishing touch. This is a dessert that has the "wow factor”, and one that you will want to serve at any family gathering or celebration.

How To Make Strawberries and Cream Meringues:

Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.

1 – Whip the egg whites:
Separate the eggs and save the yolks for another use. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or use a bowl and hand-held electric beaters. Ensure that the bowl and beaters are free from grease. Beat at a low speed until soft peaks form.

2 – Add in the sugar:
Gradually add the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, increasing the speed of the beaters. Beat constantly until the sugar dissolves, the mixture is thick and glossy, and the meringue has stiff peaks. 

3 – Shape the meringue nests:
Spoon the meringue mixture onto the prepared trays in six mounds using the circles that you drew as your guide. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the mixture out to the edge of the circle and then make a small indent in the centre. 

Bake the meringues in your preheated oven.

4 – Prepare the strawberry sauce:
To make the strawberry sauce, add the berries, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries are very soft.

5 – Purée the sauce:
Use an immersion blender to puree the fruit. Put the sauce aside to cool.

6 – Whip the cream:
Whip the cream and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Or, use hand-held electric beaters, whip until the cream has soft peaks. Carefully fold half of the cooled strawberry sauce through the whipped cream. 

Top the meringues with the whipped cream, chopped strawberries and drizzle over some of the remaining sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Hint: for the best result when whisking egg whites for meringue, the eggs should be fresh. Allow your egg whites to come to room temperature before whisking. They are easier to whisk and will achieve greater volume than cold egg whites. It is essential that the bowl and whisk that you use are dry, clean and free from grease.  

Tips for Success, Storage and FAQs:

Serving Suggestions:

The Strawberries and Cream Meringues are ideal for entertaining. Enjoy them for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or any occasion you want a stunning dessert. You can also:

• Include them in your dinner party plans. To get ahead, prepare the separate components on the day you plan to serve the dessert. Refrigerate the whipped cream, strawberries and sauce and keep the meringues in a cool, dry location. Assemble the meringues just prior to serving.
• Consider a meringue bar at your next party. Serve a plate of the meringues, a bowl of whipped cream, a jug of strawberry sauce and some sliced berries. It is lots of fun, will get people involved and everyone can decorate their meringues to suit their own taste. It also makes for relaxed entertaining.
• Take them on picnics, potlucks or to a barbecue. If transporting them, lay them in a large container and cover them well. Pack whipped cream and toppings of your choice separately and assemble at the party.

I am certain that you will love these Strawberries and Cream Meringues. With their delicious combination of flavours and textures, this sweet, slightly tangy, crunchy, creamy dessert is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.  Please let me know in the comments below when you try it! 

Alex xx

More Delicious Recipes For You To Try:

Strawberries and Cream Meringues

You will love my individual Strawberries and Cream Meringues. They are an easily made, elegant dessert with an exquisite balance of flavours and textures. The base of the dessert is a crispy meringue shell that has a slightly soft, chewy centre. It is the ideal vessel to hold the light and fluffy whipped strawberry cream as well as diced, perfectly ripe strawberries. A pour of easily made, vibrantly flavoured fresh strawberry sauce, is the perfect finishing touch. This is a dessert that has the "wow factor”, and one that you will want to serve at any family gathering or celebration.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Review

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: International

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 385kcal

Author: Alexandra Cook - It's Not Complicated Recipes

Please note:

For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.

Ingredients

For the Meringues:

• ▢ 3 large egg whites - at room temperature See Note 1
• ▢ 175 g (¾ cup) caster/superfine sugar

For the Strawberry Sauce:

• ▢ 250 g (8.8 oz) fresh strawberries - cut into 1 cm (0.5 inch) pieces See Note 2
• ▢ 2 ½ tablespoon caster/superfine sugar See Note 3
• ▢ 2 teaspoon lemon juice - freshly squeezed

For the Toppings:

• ▢ 360 ml (1 ½ cups) heavy whipping/thickened cream See Note 4
• ▢ 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 250 g (8.8 oz) fresh strawberries - cut into small cubes

Instructions

For the Meringues:

• Preheat oven to 120 Degrees C (250F).

  Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. As a guide for the meringue, I use a small, upturned saucer or cookie cutter – 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter. With a pencil, draw an outline on the baking paper and then turn the baking paper over and place it on the trays. 
• Separate three eggs. Save the egg yolks for another use.

  Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or use a bowl and hand-held electric beaters. Ensure that the bowl and beaters are free from grease. Beat on low speed until soft peaks form.
• Gradually add the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, increasing the speed of the beaters. Beat constantly until the sugar dissolves, the mixture is thick and glossy and the meringue has stiff peaks. 

  To check if the sugar has dissolved, rub a small amount of meringue between your thumb and a finger to check if it’s gritty or smooth. If it’s gritty, try beating for a little longer.
• Spoon the meringue mixture onto the prepared tray in six mounds, using the circles you drew as a guide. 

  Use the back of a spoon to smooth it out to the edge of the circle and then make an indent in the centre. 

  Alternatively, you can use a piping bag and nozzle to make elegant meringue cases if you prefer.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until crisp.

  Turn the oven off. Leave the meringues to cool in the oven.

  Once cool, store the meringues in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.

For the Strawberry Sauce and Whipped Cream:

• Add the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan.

  Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until slightly thickened and the strawberries are very soft.
• Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to purée the sauce.

  Allow to cool.
• Whip the cream and vanilla until soft peaks form in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using hand-held electric beaters.

  Fold through half of the cooled strawberry sauce.

To Assemble:

• When you are ready to serve, top the meringues with the whipped cream, chopped strawberries and a drizzle over the additional sauce.

Notes

1. Eggs: we use large, free-range eggs. Ensure that the whites are at room temperature.
2. Strawberries: when selecting strawberries, look for those that are evenly bright red. Avoid those that are white under the leaves. Ideally, they should be very fragrant.
3. Tablespoon: we use a standard Australian tablespoon which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons). For readers located elsewhere in the world, please use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon for each listed tablespoon.
4. Cream: whipping/thickened cream has a minimum milk fat content of 35%. Do not over-whip the cream.
5. Make ahead: to get ahead, prepare the separate components on the day you plan to serve the dessert. Refrigerate the whipped cream, strawberries and sauce and keep the meringues in a cool, dry location. Assemble the meringues just prior to serving. If you add the toppings in advance, the meringues will absorb moisture and become soggy. 
6. Storage: when cooled, the meringues can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry location for up to a week. Do not refrigerate them – they will absorb moisture. 

Made this recipe? We'd be so grateful if you could leave a comment and rating at the bottom of the page!

Nutrition Estimate:

Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutritional Disclaimer:

The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.