Michelle’s Pistachio Meringues
My friend Michelle’s Pistachio Meringues were served to us after a Friday night fish and chips dinner, and they were delicious.
They are a great make-ahead dessert or sweet treat to pop into your tins if you make smaller-sized merigues, package them up, and take them to friends as an edible, host gift, or thank-you gift.
Michelle’s recipe has a yoghurt, cream, and chocolate drizzle element. You can skip both or one of these elements. All three take the dessert to dinner party level; the yoghurt cream and mango give the dessert a lovely creaminess, and the chocolate makes it indulgent.
Using seasonal fruit like mango elevates the dessert; equally, berries and meringues are a great pairing. However, in winter, or when berries or mango are out of season, using frozen fruit is as delicious.
I know in the Southern Hemisphere, pistachios have increased in price; however, all you need for this recipe is 20 grammes of pistachio nuts, and the meringues taste indulgent.
- The Meringue
- 5 large egg yolks
- 275g caster sugar
- 20g pistachios, roughly chopped, 2 teaspoons reserved
- Serving Suggestion
- Yoghurt cream
- 125ml double cream
- 100ml Greek yoghurt
- 1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped
- 2 passionfruit, flesh scoop out
- Chocolate drizzle sauce
- 125ml cream
- 75g chopped plain chocolate
- 2 teaspoon golden syrup
- Preheat the oven to 130 degrees Celsius.
- Prepare two trays with non-stick parchment paper or grease-proof paper and set them aside.
- Separate the eggs and whip the egg whites until they hold their shape (soft peak stage).
- Then gradually add the sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, and once all the sugar has been added, beat on high until the mixture is shining and reaches the stiff peak stage. *See note
- Add the pistachios, holding back 2 teaspoons, and fold the nuts into the meringue in a figure of 8 with a metal spoon.
- Spoon 12 mounds of meringue on two baking sheets, allowing 4 inches between them as they spread and puff up when they are baking.
- Sprinkle the remaining pistachio nuts over the top of each meringue.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the meringues look crispy on the outside.
- Don't be tempted to open the oven; this will crack your meringues.
- Switch off the oven and leave them inside to dry for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
- Yoghurt Cream Sauce
- Stiffly beat the cream and fold the yoghurt in. Cover, and chill until needed.
- Chocolate Sauce
- Melt together the cream, chopped chocolate, and golden syrup in a microwave until the sauce is thick and shiny.
- To serve:
- Top the meringue with a dollop of the cream mixture, add the mango and passionfruit, and drizzle the top with the chocolate mixture.
This is when you lift the beater and the peaks stand proud without the tip curving over. You can also do the upside-down bowl test, if you turn the bowl upside down the mixture will not move.
