Meringue Easter nests with Coffee Cream

This one is for the kiddies!

It’s Easter Half term and this recipe is a perfect afternoon activity for everyone to get involved in.

It’s sugary, chocolatey, and obviously delicious. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients:
180g caster sugar
3 medium free-range egg whites
75g dark chocolate, broken into squares
Chocolate Mini Eggs

For the coffee cream:
100ml strong black coffee, cold (You can use decaf if the kiddies are little!)
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
2 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp cornflour
300ml double cream
100ml mascarpone
1-2 tbsp icing sugar

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 120°C or fan 100°C.

2.In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add 1 tbsp of the sugar and whisk again, then gradually add the rest of the sugar, whisking, until you have a stiff, glossy meringue.

3.Line a baking tray with baking paper and spoon the meringue mixture onto the paper. You wants to have around 8 piles of meringue, each one measuring about 6cm. Make sure to leave enough space between them for baking. Before you put them in the oven use the back of a spoon to push in the centre… this should leave you with little nest shapes.

4.Bake for 1-1½ hours or until the bases easily peel away from the baking paper. Remove from the oven and let them completely cool down.

5. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl which should be placed over a pan of barely simmering water (don’t let the water touch the bowl). Once melted; Remove and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Dip a teaspoon into the melted chocolate, then drizzle it over the top of each meringue nest. Leave this to set.

Now for the coffee cream:

6. Heat the coffee and muscovado sugar in a small pan. Mix the vanilla essence with the cornflour to make a paste, then add to the pan and simmer for a minute while stirring. This should start to thicken. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

7.Whip together the double cream, mascarpone and icing sugar in a large bowl. Fold this mixture into the cooled coffee mix. Spoon the coffee cream into the centre of each meringue nest and decorate with mini eggs.

Thats it!
Absolute sugary, chocolatey goodness! And fun for the whole family!