Special Occasions Recipes - Strawberry Meringue Heart Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

• 4 egg whites

• 250 g/8 oz caster sugar

• a few drops vanilla essence

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

• 125 g/4 oz ground almonds

• 450 ml/3/4 pint double cream, whipped

• 250 g/8 oz fresh strawberries

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Method:

1. Line 2 baking sheets with lightly greased grease proof paper and draw a 23 cm/9 inch wide heart on each.

2. To make the nut meringue, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until the mixture holds its shape.

3. Fold in the vanilla essence, lemon juice and ground almonds. Spoon the nut meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.

4. Pipe star shapes on to the paper, following the outline of the hearts. Then fill in the middles of the hearts with smaller stars to make a solid base.

5. Bake in a preheated oven, 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4, for about 40-45 minutes, until crisp and lightly colored, then cool.

6. Lift the meringues off the greaseproof paper with a palette knife. Sandwich the 2 hearts together with two thirds of the cream and half the strawberries.

7. Use the remaining cream to pipe rosettes around the edge of the heart and decorate with the remaining strawberries.