Meringues with Lemon Curd

Ingredients

Meringues:

100g egg whites
200g white sugar

Lemon Curd:

100g  dairy free margarine (or butter if it doesn’t need to be dairy free)
100g white sugar
100ml lemon juice
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
20g gluten free cornflour
2 egg yolks (just omit this for egg free)

Cream:
1 tin coconut cream (chilled overnight in the fridge)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract with seeds
½ teaspoon icing sugar

Directions

Meringues:

1. Whisk the egg whites until very stiff (about 5-10 minutes on high)
2. Add the sugar gradually and whisk until stiff and glossy.
3. Pipe in circles onto a tray lined with baking paper.
4. Bake at 125 degrees Celsius for one hour then leave in the oven with the temperature off for a further 30 minutes to dry out.

Lemon Curd:

1. Put the lemon juice, zest, sugar and margarine in a pot and cook over medium heat until the margarine is melted and the mixture is coming up to the boil.
2. Mix the cornflour in a small bowl with a Tablespoon of cold water. Add to the simmering lemon mixture and boil for two minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool for about three minutes.
3. Add the egg yolks and whisk very quickly (you want the egg to thicken the mixture but not make scrambled egg). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cream:

Open the can of coconut cream, and scoop off the thick parts, discarding the watery part (we use this in smoothies).  Whisk with the sugar and vanilla until thick.

To Serve:

Layer up the meringues with cream and lemon curd.  I decorated mine with more whipped coconut cream, raspberries and blueberries, candied lemon peel and edible flowers.