Lemon Berry Meringues

When I was a little girl, my parents threw huge exciting parties in the summer. My mother must have had some sort of intimate relationship with the weather Gods, because we never had a drop of rain on the night of their parties, fortunate since there were far too many people having much too much fun to move them inside. I was always allowed to attend the beginning of the parties before I was sent over to spend the night at my grandmother's house next door to listen to the sounds of the band, the laughter, and the merriment from right next door until I finally drifted off to sleep.

The parties were never catered. There was a small arsenal of recipes that my mother still has that require only a fork so people aren't trying to cut with their plates on their laps. My mother always made meringues filled with chocolate mousse for these occasions. She would craft the meringues in the shape of shallow little bowls and fill them with a generous portion of the spiked chocolate concoction. This recipe is a variation on that favorite dessert, one that takes advantage of the spring berry crop and lemon curd, one of my favorite sweet-tart treats.

Now that it is spring and we haven't hit the hot, humid days of summer, it is the perfect time to make meringues. I'm not kidding when I say it has to be dry out when you make these. If it is a humid day, the result of this recipe will make you think you turned to the page for "chewing gum" by mistake. If it is dry enough and you have the patience to leave them in the oven for a long time, they will be light as air and blissfully sweet and crunchy.

There are two different kinds of meringue. Both have the exact same ingredients, yet the results are not at all alike. The first is Italian meringue. This is what you find on top of a lemon meringue pie. This meringue is made by whipping up your egg whites and pouring a boiling hot syrup over them while still whisking the mixture. The whites are cooked by the hot sugar syrup and the mixture remains spongy and soft. French meringue, by contrast,incorporates all the ingredients while they are still cold. Then they are baked in a very low oven for a long time, drying them out to be crispy, crunchy and light. It is the French meringue that makes a great base for these desserts.

There are a couple of keys to making this dessert successfully. First, your bowl and beaters must be really clean. If they are already clean, wash them again. Any oil or fat will cause the eggs to revolt. They simply will not whip up and it is the whipped eggs that make the meringue. Second, have the eggs at room temperature.

Third, following the the oil or fat preventing your eggs from whipping, be certain that there is no yolk in the egg whites. If you are new to separating eggs, try separating the whites into a small bowl and adding that white to the larger bowl once you have successfully accomplished the separation. If you are really bad at this, plan on a scrambled egg meal immediately following the meringue making process! I find it much easier to separate eggs with my hands, letting the whites slip between my fingers while the yolk stays in my hand. The shells just have too many sharp edges for the yolk to get caught on.

The other divine component of this dessert is lemon curd. This curd has a lovely tart flavor that isn't too sweet, a beautiful foil for the sugary meringue. The marriage of lemon and berries is also a favorite of mine. Lemon curd is really easy to make as long as it is cooked really slowly. If you cook it too quickly the egg will scramble, and while the flavor will still be great, the texture of lemon flavored scrambled eggs leaves a bit to be desired.

All that said, this is not at all difficult to make and results in a simple, beautiful, and wonderfully tasty dessert.

Lemon Berry Meringues

This recipe makes 12 meringues, but only enough lemon curd to fill about 8 of them. We like to keep the extra meringues around for nibbling or in the case of one breaking.

Meringue Cups

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar*

1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 225 F

Combine the egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a clean copper or stainless steel bowl. Beat using a hand beaters or a stand mixer until soft peaks form. Add the sugar to the mixture one tablespoon at a time while still beating. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

On parchment lined cookie sheets, form 12 meringue bowls by dropping the meringue onto the sheet and making an indentation with the back of a spoon. If you are handy with a pastry bag, feel free to pipe your meringue into little bowl shapes.

Bake for two hours. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven about 8 hours or overnight. If you are concerned about humidity, leave the meringues in the oven with the oven light on.

Lemon Curd (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

grated zest of one organic lemon

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (make sure there are no seeds)

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine eggs, sugar, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Whisk vigorously until the mixture lightens in color a bit. Add the lemon juice and butter and cook, whisking constantly, over low heat until the mixture simmers for a minute or two and thickens a bit. Remove from the heat.

You can strain the mixture through a sieve at this point if you would like to remove the lemon zest. I chose to leave the zest in. Stir in the vanilla.

Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate.

To Assemble

2 cups mixed berries, picked over

1/4 cup creme de cassis (optional)

Fill the meringues will the chilled lemon curd. Top each with 1/4 cup berries and a mint leaf to garnish. If you want to make the berries a bit more special, soak them in cremede cassis (blackcurrant liquor) for about 15 minutes before assembly. This will look a bit more messy, but will taste absolutely divine.

(Serves 8)

* Cream of tartar helps the beaten eggs hold their shape. If you are using a copper bowl (you lucky devil!) you can omit the cream of tartar. My mother does both. I think it is her version of a meringue insurance policy!