Denise says:
These little baskets are filled with a tropical fruit concoction of passion fruit, mango and pineapple and cream. They look very impressive and can be assembled quickly at the last minute.
I originally wrote this for Peasch but keep it for all year round. To make it parev substitute the cream with the Toffuti non-dairy cream cheese.
The secret of successful meringues without cracks is to let them cool overnight in the oven. To add a little finesse, pipe them in identical shapes and exactly the same size eg: hearts, squares or circles. When they are the same size, they will cook evenly.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes plus cooling
Serves: 8 people
Ingredients:
4 egg whites225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Filling
200g Whipping double cream
200g pineapple – cut into chunks
4 passion fruit – seed removed
1 mango – peeled and cubed
4 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon rum or other Kosher for Pesach liquor
Method
1) Preheat the oven to 150 C/ Gas Mark 3.2) Line two large baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
3) In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time on a fast speed until the mixture is thick.
4) Add the vanilla essence.
5) Place 2 tablespoons of mixture onto the prepared baking sheet or use a piping bag with a wide nozzle to form your desired shape basket/ nest.
6) Repeat to make eight meringues spacing well apart.
7) Bake for 30 minutes or until set.
8) Turn off the heat and leave in the oven to cool.
9) For the filling whisk the cream until thick ~ or if using the toffuti cream cheese remove from the container.
10) Still in the rum and icing sugar. Divide the mixture between the meringues.
11) Combine the passion fruit, mango and pineapple in a bowl. Spoon the fruit on top.
To serve the stylish way: Dust the plate with icing sugar and serve immediately