Tropical Meringue Nests with Mango and Coconut
The idea of whipping and cooking egg whites used to make me want to lie down in a dark room. They always seemed far too difficult and after a horrific attempt many years ago, my desire to ever work with them were wrapped up, boxed and placed on the never-again shelf.
By chance, I stumbled upon a recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream by Whisk Kid and her step-by-step instructions were clear, precise and best of all, helpful. I successfully baked a Rainbow Cake using her famous recipe and I haven’t looked back.
Making these super delicious meringue nests were easy, far easier than baking a cake, with significantly fewer ingredients and labour. If you have a stand mixer you could almost make this recipe and paint your nails simultaneously.
Tropical Meringue Nests with Mango and Coconut
Makes approx 10
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
2 teaspoons cornflour
½ teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon coconut milk powder
1 mango
Meringue Nests
Preheat the oven to 100°C. Cut a sheet of non-stick baking paper to fit your baking sheet. Draw 6cm circles on the paper, spacing them at least 2cm apart. Turn the baking paper over and place on baking sheet. Place the eggwhites and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water – don’t let the bowl touch the water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved (approximately 5 minutes). Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer and whisk until firm peaks form. Carefully fold in the desiccated coconut, cornflour and vinegar until just combined. Using a piping bag fitted with ½cm nozzle, pipe a 6cm circle onto the tray, then continue to pipe 3-4 rings on top of each other around the rim to form a nest. Bake for 30 minutes, then leave meringues in switched-off oven to cool completely (at least 2 hours).
Coconut Cream
With an electric mixer beat cream until almost fluffy. Slowly sprinkle in coconut milk powder, keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and looks like whipped cream.
Assembling your scrumptious dessert
Cut up the mango pieces to tiny cubes. Place the meringue nests on a serving plate. Dollop the whipped coconut cream in the middle and place a generous amount of mango on top.
16 Comments
Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)
January 14th at 8:41 pmSo neat! I’m terrible with eggwhites too!
TasteHongKong
January 15th at 1:25 amSee – you have helpful details here too. Lovely pictures. It looks delicious.
shirley@kokken69
January 15th at 10:53 amThanks for the step by step… you’ve made it look so easy 🙂
mycookinghut
January 16th at 4:28 amLove it! Looks really summery!
yummychunklet
January 16th at 6:35 amHow delicate and delicious these look! And I love the mango topping. Yum!
Richard Elliot
January 16th at 9:18 pmGreat to see you back blogging Amy!
The meringue nest look devine. As does the rainbow cake.
I’ve got a mixer, but I’m not sure what my nails would look like painted…..
sara
January 17th at 11:23 amThese look so delicious! A total burst of summer in chilly winter, yum! 🙂
Joanne
January 17th at 11:35 pmI’m typically totally petrified by meringues…but you’ve convinced me I need to get over my fears and get some tropics-infused nests into my life! These look and sound awesome.
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January 19th at 3:15 amhttp://www.littlehouseandgarden.com/2012/01/18/tropical-meringue-nests-with-mango-and-coconut-tinytearoom/
Nami | Just One Cookbook
January 19th at 1:58 pmHi Amy! I’m so happy to see your new post! I love this meringue nests – so pretty! I’m not a huge fan of meringues (texture and flavor?) but now… I changed my mind, I’d love to try this mango coconut version! Beautiful and delicious combo. Love it!
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January 27th at 10:02 amhttp://jenncuisine.com/2012/01/naturally-gluten-free-links-roundup-1/
Kulsum@journeykitchen.com
January 27th at 6:32 pmI want to eat this now! what a great recipe. Meringue used to scare the hell out of me too!
Choc Chip Uru
March 20th at 6:58 amThese meringue nests look delicious – sweet and tropical – and awesome piping tip 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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April 4th at 6:48 pmhttp://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/give-me-a-grin-for-easter-2012/
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August 5th at 10:51 amhttp://gobakeyourself.com/2012/04/04/give-me-a-grin-for-easter-2012/
olivia
February 4th at 12:27 amis it a hard or chewy meringue once cook?