A step-by-step guide to making homemade meringue nests, perfect for making beautiful mini pavlovas.
Pavlova is one of my absolute favourite desserts, my Mum used to make strawberry pavlova for special occasions when I was little and I always loved it, there was nothing worse than hoping for seconds (which I always did) and finding that it had all gone!
Nowadays I like to make mini pavlovas, for a couple of reasons. Firstly it stops squabbles over who has the biggest slice, and secondly big pavlovas always look beautiful, piled high with cream and fruit and then you slice them… what had looked so stunning is suddenly more akin to an Eton mess – meringue, cream and fruit in a big (but still yummy) pile. I guess I’m a bit vain when it comes to serving desserts and I like to hand the dishes out still looking pretty, so mini pavlovas are definitely the way to go for me.
I turned these meringue nests into yummy mini strawberry pavlovas, which I’ll be sharing the recipe for over the next few days.
How to stop your meringue from cracking
One common problem with meringues is the meringue cracking in the oven and crumbling when you come to remove them from the baking tray. There are a few of tricks you can use to avoid this…
- Whisk the egg whites slowly at first until they’re foamy and then only increase the speed to medium. This ensures the air bubbles in the meringue don’t get too big.
- Keep the oven temperature low – I cook these at 100ºC/80ºC fan.
- Leave the meringues to cool in the oven without opening the door.
You’ll notice a little cracking inside my meringue nests, but they’re all structurally sound 🙂
Another important tip if you’re planning on making these into mini pavlovas is not to fill them with cream too early. The cream soaks into the meringue making it soft, still delicious but much more likely to crumble.
How to Make Meringue Nests
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large egg whites - I often use the cartons of egg white so I don’t have to find a use for the leftover yolks, in which case you’d need 70g.
- 100 g caster sugar
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the meringue
- Pre-heat your oven to 100ºC/80ºC fan.
- Put your 2 egg whites into a large bowl and whisk on a low speed until foamy. Once foamy, increase the speed to medium until the egg whites form stiff peaks.
- Add the caster sugar (100g) a tablespoon at a time and whisk until combined. You’ll now have a lovely stiff, glossy meringue.
Pipe the meringue nests
- Line your baking tray with greaseproof paper or non-stick baking sheet.
- Put you meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
- Start by piping a dot in the centre of your meringue nest, then in one continuous motion go around the dot twice to make a bigger circle, and then go around again on top of the outer circle to make the sides.
- Repeat until you’ve piped all 8 nests. Don’t worry if they’re not completely perfect – that’s what makes them look homemade, and you can always cover any mishaps with plenty of cream and fruit.
Bake the meringue nests
- Place the meringue nests into the oven and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Once cooked turn off the oven and DON’T open the door. Leave the meringues in the oven until it has cooled completely and then take them out (the slow cooling helps to prevent the nests from cracking). I usually make my meringues in the evening and then leave them to cool overnight.
- Remove them from the oven and serve.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Dairy-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Sal says
Perfect. Crunchy on the outside and chewy in the centre. Beautifully white and glossy.
Linden Sheffield says
I followed this recipe exactly, but my meringues were hard all the way through, no chewy centre. Wouldn’t make these again, very disappointing.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the meringues. I designed these to be similar to the ones I tend to find in the shops which are more on the crunchy side. For a chewier meringue you need to reduce the cooking time to around an hour.
Val says
My mixture was too runny. I’ve spooned it onto the paper but unable to shape into nests.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds as though the mixture needed to be whisked for longer in order to form stiff peaks.
B The Home Baker says
Great tip about not whisking egg whites on high speed at the beginning as it whips too much air into mixture and makes meringue too crumbly. My meringue nests were perfect following this easy step step by step recipe. I have made them on many occasions now and the family and guests are very complimentary.
Emjay says
Thank you so much for your advice! They needed 30 mins in the oven, however, the leftover mixture that I spooned into a greased muffin tray baked well on the top but was not baked well underneath. The six that I put on a tray had quite a firm, dark outside, however, the bottoms were rather sticky. I took them out as I did not want the outsides to burn. They were nice, but do you have any advice for when I try them again tomorrow? Anything that goes well with them or something i could use them for?
Charlotte Oates says
If they were cooked in 30 minutes then it sounds like your oven was too high (they should take a lot longer). Cooking meringues at too high a temperature will result in them browning. What temperature did you cook them on?
This may also explain why the bottoms were sticky as the outside has cooked too quickly while the middle hasn’t yet cooked through.
Karla says
If Im making a big Pavlova (maybe 2 or 3 batches) should i increase the oven time?
Charlotte Oates says
You should be fine to keep the cooking time the same.
Emjay says
I am unable to put the meringue in the oven for a couple of hours and it is all still in the bowl. Will it be okay if I leave it on the side for this time without whisking it?
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine. I wouldn’t leave just the whipped egg whites as they start to break down, but it should be fine once the sugar is beaten in.
Robyn says
How many medium egg whites would I need to use, please?
Charlotte Oates says
You would need 2.5 medium egg whites.
Kayla Chaille says
How do we know when they are ready? Can we open the oven to check?
Charlotte Oates says
Fortunately with merge use they’re pretty flexible with cooking time. If you take them out a bit earlier they’ll be chewier and later they’ll be crisper, so as long as they’ve been in for roughly the right amount of time they’ll be good to eat.
You’re absolutely fine to open the door to check them.
sue sacco says
don’t have a scale. I found online that .44 c is the amount I need to get 100 g. Does that sound correct? could I just say a little less than half a cup?
Charlotte Oates says
100g of caster sugar is ½ a cup/120ml.
You could use 8 tablespoons to get the right amount.
Emjay says
100 grams of caster sugar is equal to 100ml so you could measure it using a jug.
Charlotte Oates says
That’s not actually true. 100g of caster sugar is about 119ml. You could use a measuring jug, but you’d need more than 100ml.
Heather says
How do you keep you meringues so white mine always change colour just ever so slightly ?
Thanks heather
Charlotte Oates says
I find the lower the oven temperature, the whiter the meringue, so you could try turning you oven down 10°C and seeing if that helps.
Noleen says
Will these store well if made a week before needed and stored in an air tight container without freezing?
Charlotte Oates says
They should be fine for a week in an airtight container.
Jolene says
Any grease will effect how well the egg whites whisk up, to get rid of any grease get a paper napkin and put a tiny bit of white vinegar on it then wipe all your utensils and bowls with it.
Kim Haw says
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, just as long as you have a big enough bowl for whisking the meringue and plenty of space in your oven.
Lisa says
Another tip is to ensure that all of your baking utensils are completely dry, because I’m sure it affects the egg whites of you get any water into the mix.