Lemon Beehive Meringues

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup purchased lemon curd
• 1 cup fresh loganberries or 1 cup blackberries or 1 cup other berries

Recipe

• 1 let egg whites stand at room temperature in a large mixing bowl for 30 minutes. meanwhile, line baking sheet with parchment paper. using a pencil, draw eight 2-1/4-inch circles and eight 1-3/4-inch circles about 1 inch apart on the paper.* turn paper pencil-side down on baking sheet; set aside. preheat oven to 300 degrees f.
• 2 add lemon juice and cream of tartar to egg whites. beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed about 7 minutes or until very stiff peaks form (tips stand straight) and sugar is almost dissolved.
• 3 using a pastry bag fitted with a medium (1/4-inch) round tip, pipe a flat base of meringue onto all of the circles on the paper. pipe a ring of meringue onto edges of each of the 8 larger meringue rounds, building the sides 3/4 inch tall by piping a continuous coil of meringue to form a small shell. for tops, pipe a coil of meringue on smaller rounds to make a cone shape that resembles the top of a beehive.
• 4 bake 30 minutes. turn off oven. let meringues dry in oven, with door closed, at least 1 hour. remove from paper. place in an airtight container. store in a cool, dry place up to 1 week.
• 5 just before serving, spoon 1 tablespoon of lemon curd into each bottom meringue shell. place a few berries on lemon curd. prop top of meringue beehive next to bottom.
• 6 *note: for free-form meringue shells without tops, make eight 3-inch circles on parchment. use back of a large spoon to spread meringue over circles, building up sides to form shells. bake as directed.