Impress your friends with this fabulous dinner party dessert: summer fruit meringues piped into the shape of swans.
Ingredients
- 4 free-range eggs, whites only
- 200g/7oz caster sugar
- 110g/4oz raspberries
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream
- 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
- 110g/4oz strawberries, diced
Preparation method
- Preheat the oven to 100C/200F/Gas ¼. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Place the egg whites into a clean glass bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks when the whisk is removed from the bowl..
- Whisk in the caster sugar a spoonful at a time until the mixture is glossy and forms stiff peaks.
- Take one third of the meringue mixture out of the bowl and place into a piping bag.
- Fold the raspberries into the remaining meringue and place eight spoonfuls of the mixture, each about 7.5cm/3in wide, onto the baking tray to make the wings.
- With the reserved meringue mixture, pipe four long neck and head shapes onto the mat alongside the wings and bake in the oven for 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Place the double cream into a bowl with the vanilla seeds, whisk until it forms stiff peaks then gently fold in the strawberries.
- Sandwich pairs of the “wings” together with the strawberry cream, carefully place the “necks” into the cream to complete your swan shape and serve immediately.