This is one of my favorite summer desserts. It’s a show-stopper, but soooo easy. Change up the fruit (peaches, mangoes, nectarines, etc) as the summer goes on. Make your meringues in the morning, use store-bought lemon curd and this becomes a dessert you can put together in 10 minutes flat.

Recipe by Catherine Pla

Serves 6

Berry Meringue Parfaits with Lemon Curd and Raspberry Coulis

Meringue

4 egg whites (120g)
1⁄4 t cream of tartar
11⁄4 c granulated sugar
1 t cornstarch
2 t white vinegar
1 t vanilla extract

Fruit

1 c strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries
2 T sugar

Whipped Cream

2 c cold heavy whipping cream
2 T confectioners’ sugar
1⁄2 t vanilla

Lemon curd, store-bought or homemade (recipe on the blog)

Raspberry Coulis

I use fresh or frozen fruit, depending on the season and availability (it’s easiest is to get a bag of frozen raspberries). Place fruit in a saucepan and add sugar, starting with 2-3 tablespoons and increasing to taste. Squeeze 1 teaspoon lemon juice into the pan. Heat to a simmer until fruit breaks down slightly. Strain to remove seeds and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean bowl using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or you can beat by hand or use a hand-held mixer) until they reach stiff peaks. Then slowly add in the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, re-beating to glossy, stiff peaks after each addition. Beat in cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla just to combine.

Use a pastry bag to pipe or spoon dollops of the meringue onto the parchment. Bake until firm and dry to the touch but do not brown, about 1 hour. The meringues should be completely firm/hard and can be easily removed from the parchment paper. Turn the oven off and let them cool in the oven.

Combine the berries with the sugar and stir. Crush some of the berries with the back of a fork to release juices. Let macerate.

Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or you can beat by hand) until it reaches soft peaks.

Choose 6 parfait glasses or wine glasses. Use a knife to break up meringues into bite-size chunks that will fit in the glasses you’ve chosen. In glasses, layer berries, whipped cream, coulis, and meringue in a manner that pleases your eye.