Homemade Strawberry Meringues. Light and crisp meringue shells filled with strawberry curd, crème fraîche, and fresh fruit. It’s naturally Gluten Free.
Strawberry Meringues with Homemade Crème Fraîche, Strawberry Rhubarb Curd and fresh Strawberries
Mmmm! This dessert was amazing. It was a little difficult to eat, but it sure was good! I enjoyed it immensely! The crisp meringue was amazing, the sweet and tart combination of the Crème Fraîche and Strawberry curd was wonderful, and the fresh fruit was a nice touch.
I was inspired by this Martha Stewart recipe. I, sadly,could not replicate the “cupcake” effect that she made. 🙁
In fact, I had a horrible time making the meringue shells. Let me share with you some of my disasters, shall I?
Oil and Meringue DO NOT mix! I went through 2 batches (six egg whites) before I realized that I was using my chocolate food coloring. You see, chocolate food coloring does not contain water – it has oil. I could not figure out why my eggs were deflating when I tried to add some color to them… Grrrrr! That was really frustrating!
Once I got that figured out, I could not get the meringue to dry all the way through with so much meringue. Her recipe says that the middle will still be soft, but I did NOT like how chewy and sticky it remained. I mean it totally suck to my teeth and was kind of disgusting. Also, when they were all in one container, they deflated and looked kinda crappy. No bueno! (now 9 eggs)
Finally, I had enough. A few days later and another carton of eggs, I was ready to try again. I was going to give up if this didn’t work! I was so happy that separating the tops and bottoms worked so much better. I made a little shell for the filling to go into and then pipped the tops separately.
I’m a total genius!
I think they turned out great! And, if you want to make a meringue, you’ve gotta break a few eggs. I broke a dozen.
In the three-day planning of this dessert, the shells are actually done on the second day. Make the homemade crème fraîche on the first day, the meringue on the second day along with the curd, and then put it all together on the third day. You want the shells to be completely dry.
I left mine in the oven overnight with the light on. It kept them safe and dry.
This would be a great spring treat. I love meringue any time of year, but humidity can wreak havoc on your shells. Don’t put them into the fridge and only assemble them just before serving. You can make a little buffet for guests to make their own. If the shells are too big, make little meringue “cookie” stars and top the cream and curd with a few of them.
This would be a great naturally gluten free dessert to replace strawberry shortcake. Enjoy!
These Strawberry Meringues are part three of a three part series including homemade crème fraîche and strawberry rhubarb curd.
Strawberry Meringues
These meringue "cupcakes" will impress any guest! Meringue shells filled with strawberry curd and Crème Fraîche. They sit in the oven overnight, so plan ahead.
Ingredients
FOR THE MERINGUE SHELLS
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Food Coloring, optional
- strawberry rhubarb curd
- homemade crème fraîche
Instructions
For the Meringue
- Place the egg whites into a clean mixing bowl with a clean whisk or beaters. Beat the egg whites until they begin to get foamy, then add the cream of tartar.
- Gradually add in the superfine sugar and wait until stiff peaks form. The meringue will get very white and glossy. Stiff peaks will stand up and not flop over.
- Add the extract and coloring at the very end.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. Pip out the shell and the top. Use the leftover meringue to make star cookies.
- Bake at 225F for 2 hours. Leave them into oven, heat off, light on, overnight to dry completely.
- When you are ready to serve, fill with the Crème Fraîche and Strawberry Rhubarb Curd. Top with a meringue top and enjoy!
Notes
The recipe for the meringues is easily doubled. I got four large desserts, plus a bunch of cookies from this recipe.
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wow these look awesome, a lot of hard work went into them!
Karyn, these merangues look so stinkin’ amazing!! I have some fresh strawberries in my fridge right now. I might just have to whip up a batch. 😉 Have pinned!
These are beautiful. Thanks for going through the trial and error and sharing the best way to make these! Pinned. 🙂
I’m usually so much better with Meringues. I was honestly quite embarrassed that I goofed-up so many times… Thanks for the pin!
Thanks for sharing the ups and downs of this recipe! You’ve now saved me 9 eggs ;). Looks delicious!
I now have a ton of frozen egg yolks which will come in handy for ice creams! 🙂 There is a silver lining.
I am loving this! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams starts on Fridays 😀 Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!
What temp do you bake the meringues?
Oh my goodness! I’ll correct the recipe now. Can’t believe I left that out. They’ll be baked at 225 F. Thanks for asking.
I love the strawberry rhubarb curd idea – wish I could buy rhubarb around here so I could try it!
It comes out in the late spring/early summer and you can freeze it if you do find it. If you can’t get your hands on rhubarb, you can always just make strawberry curd! YUM!
These meringues look like perfection! I appreciate you sharing your trials and tribulations with the meringues. I have never made them but understand that they are not easy. Thanks for your tips. Your photos look fabulous!
If only I didn’t use the wrong food coloring to begin with… 99% of the food coloring in the stores are perfect for meringues. Otherwise, they are pretty easy to make.
This recipe looks awesome! I love how the cake is replaced with meringue. It’s great for all us gluten-free people.
It’s so easy to make and it makes for a stunning presentation 🙂
How long will they keep and how do you store them?
They need to be stored in an air tight container. Keep any moisture away from them and they will hold up for days.