Meringues Chantilly

It seems as though my last few month’s worth of posts have been heavy on the dessert side of things. Sorry about that. Must be the cold winter months bringing out the baker in me. I just have a couple more to share with you and then I’ll get back to boring ol’ healthy stuff.

When I first read through this recipe for Meringues Chantilly, I was a bit put off by what seemed like a lot of steps and a lot of effort for something that contained no chocolate. I mean, how good could THAT be?

However, I was planning a lunch for some friends and needed a dessert I could make ahead of time. I also have a goal for this year to try a lot of new things, and meringues would fall into that category. My only experience with meringue is that fluffy (usually fairly tasteless) stuff you find on top of a lemon meringue pie. These meringue shells were so far from that!

I followed the meringues recipe exactly, baking the meringues late that night and letting them sit in the oven overnight. They were great in the morning, but by lunch there must have been some humidity in the house because a few of the cups were a little chewy on the bottom. The flavor was amazing though.

The warm stewed berries and soft whipped cream were a perfect complement to the crisp meringues, but next time I think I’ll make the meringue shells just a little smaller; the finished dessert was quite rich. I realize now (looking back at Ina’s photos) that I was a little too generous with the whipped cream as well! Look at that mound – sheesh!

For the stewed berries, I followed the recipe, but instead used some frozen mixed berries and it worked great. This time of year usually fresh berries are expensive and it can be hit and miss with the flavor. I also omitted the framboise.

Now what I’m wondering is if anyone has had meringue shells filled with something other than berries and cream? Something chocolate perhaps? Either leave a comment or email me and let me know.

For more information on meringues check this site. It has some great tips and even a Q&A section to help problem solve any of your meringue trauma.