Posted on Wednesday, 14th July 2010 by Grace

I can’t believe it is Wednesday already, this week is flying by.  I’ve held off posting because my site was to have been transferred to a new hosting company on Monday, then it was changed to Tuesday and now it looks like the magic day is today.  You’ll notice the home page of the site has changed a little.  The change was made to reduce the loading time of the site and hopefully make it easier to navigate through, hope you like the enhancement.

A photo of 3 lemon curd meringue nests garnished with candied lemon slices on a white plate.

My niece’s wedding is fast approaching, just a few short weeks away.  I am so looking forward to her special day and to spending time with the many family members that will be visiting from out of town. We almost have one wedding behind us and recently my niece, N, has announced her engagement.  I’ve already starting clipping recipes and starting to thinking about different bridal shower themes.

A photo of 3 lemon curd meringue nests garnished with candied lemon slices on a white plate.

While clicking through sites I spotted an all pink theme on Martha Stewart’s site.  N isn’t much of a pink person but she does love yellow.  I thought different hues of the yellow paired with white would be beautiful.

A photo of candied lemon slices on a glass cake stand.

When I ran across this all white-themed wedding spread and saw the stunning photos of this dessert table I couldn’t help but gravitate to the lemon curd meringue nests, I thought they would be perfect for the bridal shower.  I plan on making those cute little coconut donuts as well.

A photo of lemon curd meringue nests with raspberries on white doilies, placed on a pink placemat.

My little meringue nests didn’t turn out quite as beautiful, considering this was my first time I figure I will have a ton of time to practise and perfect the technique.   It took 3 batches before I was finally happy with the nests.  I used a smaller pastry tip with the first two batches and I found they were leaning over because I had to pipe quite a few layers to get the height I was looking for.  In the last batch I switched to the larger pastry tip and they looked much better.

A photo of a lemon curd meringue nest garnished with a raspberry on a red plate.

I made Emeril’s lemon curd and I am very happy with the taste and texture, it is super creamy.

If you’re not a citrus lover, you can fill the nests with chocolate mousse, ice cream, sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit or sorbet, the possibilities are endless.

Lemon Curd Meringue Nests

A photo of a lemon curd meringue nest garnished with a raspberry on a white doilie, placed on a pink placemat.

  • Meringue Nests
  • Lemon Curd
  • Candied Lemon Slices, optional, for garnishing
  • Raspberries, optional, for garnishing
  1. Fit a pastry bag with a large pastry tip (Ateco 6B) and fill pastry bag with chilled lemon curd.
  2. Fill each nest with lemon curd.
  3. Garnish with a small piece of candied lemon.

Meringue Nests

(from Martha Stewart)

A photo of a lemon curd meringue nest on a white plate with raspberries on the side, placed on a black placemat.

Makes 12 1 7/8-inch nests

  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup super fine granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sifted
  1. Using a 1 7/8-inch cookie cutter, draw 12 circles on a sheet of parchment paper.  Turn the paper over, and place on a baking sheet; set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 200° F.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Beat on medium-low speed until soft peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Reduce to low speed and gradually sprinkle the sugar over the whites.  Increase the speed to high and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from stand mixer; sift cornstarch over mixture, using a large spatula fold to combine.
  3. Fit a pastry bag with a small plain pastry tip and fill pastry bag with meringue.  Starting in the centre of one of the circles, holding the pastry bag vertically, pipe from the middle outwards.   Repeat with remaining 11 circles. Switch to a large pastry tip (Ateco 6B), and pipe one or two layers around each circle to form a rim around the edge.
  4. Transfer baking sheet to oven, and bake for 1 hour.  Reduce temperature to 175° F, and continue to bake until meringue has dried but is still white, about 1 hour more.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Lemon Curd

(from Emeril Lagasse)

A photo of lemon curd in a pink bowl garnished with a raspberry.

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
  1. Fill a small pot one-third of the way with water.  Set it over low heat and bring to a simmer.
  2. In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt.  Set the bowl over the pot of simmering water and whisk constantly for 10 to 15 minutes or until the egg mixture thickens and holds its shape when stirred.  Remove the lemon curd from the heat and stir in the butter.
  3. Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a metal bowl, set bowl over a bowl of ice water.  Stir the curd occasionally for 5 minutes until cool.  Cover curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled or overnight.

Candied Lemon Slices

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

A photo of a candied lemon slice held with wooden chopsticks.

  • 1 large lemon, cut into 1/8-inch slices
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, swirling to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat to low.  Using tongs, add lemon slices arranging them in one layer.  Simmer (do not let boil), uncovered, until rinds are translucent, about 1 to 2 hours.
  2. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Let stand until ready to use.

Related posts:

  1. Lemon-Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
  2. Lemon Tassies – Mini Dessert – One-Bite Delight
  3. Gordon Ramsay’s Baked Lemon Tart
  4. Mango & Lemon Syllabub – Quick & Refreshing Dessert
  5. Chocolate Custard Tartlettes

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Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Custards, Creams & Mousses, Eggs, Fillings, Frostings & Dessert Sauces, Recipes

Comments (4)

4 Responses to “Lemon Curd Meringue Nests”

  1. Stacey Says:
    July 14th, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    These look great! I love lemon curd! This is a perfec summer dessert. WIll definitely try it!

  2. Grace Says:
    July 14th, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    Stacey with your piping skills they are going to look magnificent!

  3. Michelle Says:
    July 22nd, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    Gorgeous dessert. You did a lovely job with the presentation of them too.

  4. Grace Says:
    July 22nd, 2010 at 8:59 pm

    Thanks Michelle, need to do a little more practising with the piping but I have a ton of time to get it right.

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