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Hazelnut meringues with berries

By Nancy Anne Harbord

Hazelnut Meringues with Berry Sauce and Cream – Crispy, chewy, nutty meringues served with a spiced berry sauce and clouds of whipped cream. A gorgeous autumn dessert. By @deliciouscratch | deliciousfromscratch.com
Crispy, chewy hazelnut meringues served with a spiced berry sauce and clouds of whipped cream. A gorgeous autumn dessert.

This recipe is another I cooked from Memories with Food at Gipsy House by Felicity and Roald Dahl (see my review and other recipes from the book here).

The Dahls employed a number of housekeeper-cooks – always young women – who each contributed their own recipes and unique styles. This particular dish originates from Josie Fison, one of the major influences on the book – described as a “breathtakingly brilliant” cook by Roald Dahl.

Hazelnut Meringues with Berry Sauce and Cream – Crispy, chewy, nutty meringues served with a spiced berry sauce and clouds of whipped cream. A gorgeous autumn dessert. By @deliciouscratch | deliciousfromscratch.com
Having always been taught that meringue should be cooked low and slow, this recipe is something of a revelation. Cooked on a pretty high heat – 180c – the meringues puff up dramatically, forming a ethereally light, crisp outer shell and a soft, airy, chewy centre. Beautiful contrast.

Hazelnut Meringues with Berry Sauce and Cream – Crispy, chewy, nutty meringues served with a spiced berry sauce and clouds of whipped cream. A gorgeous autumn dessert. By @deliciouscratch | deliciousfromscratch.com
The toasted hazelnuts, sprinkled on top, really add an important flavour and textural dimension.

Hazelnut Meringues with Berry Sauce and Cream – Crispy, chewy, nutty meringues served with a spiced berry sauce and clouds of whipped cream. A gorgeous autumn dessert. By @deliciouscratch | deliciousfromscratch.com
The original Gipsy House recipe calls for the hazelnuts to be toasted in their skins in a low oven for two hours. Two hours?? For me, nuts are toasted for a maximum of ten-fifteen minutes, albeit on a higher heat. What am I missing? Are very long, slow-roasted nuts infinitely superior? I don’t quite have the patience to conduct a two-hour experiment, but if anyone can shed any light on this issue I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Hazelnut Meringues with Berry Sauce and Cream – Crispy, chewy, nutty meringues served with a spiced berry sauce and clouds of whipped cream. A gorgeous autumn dessert. By @deliciouscratch | deliciousfromscratch.com
The sauce I opted to serve these meringues with also deviates somewhat from the Gipsy House recipe. While they recommended a sweetened blackberry purée, I decided to use a spiced berry coulis recipe that I have tried in the past. The combination of fruits and spices make for a complex, layered taste which really jazzes up the somewhat one-dimensionally sweet meringue. You can serve it as a compôte as above, or blend it into a silky purée.

Both whipped and pouring cream work well with this dessert, depending on the presentation you are after – clouds or drizzles…

But to my mind both the additions – the berry sauce and the cream – are necessary to elevate the sweet meringue to something sublime. A range of flavours – fruity, sweet, tart, spicy, milky; and textures – airy, chewy, creamy, silky – are what makes this dessert.

Print Recipe

Hazelnut meringues with berries

Chewy, crunchy hazelnut meringues served with berry coulis and fresh cream.
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Hazelnut Meringues

  • 140 g hazelnuts
  • 4 egg whites
  • 225 g unrefined caster sugar
  • drop of vanilla essence
  • 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

To serve

  • berry coulis
  • fresh cream

Instructions

  • Toast the hazelnuts for 10 minutes at 180c. Rub off the skins if necessary and roughly crush.
  • Whisk the egg whites in a very clean bowl until soft peaks, then gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla essence and white wine vinegar until very stiff.
  • Dollop the meringue onto a baking paper-lined tray and sprinkle with hazelnuts.
  • Bake at 180c for 35 minutes and allow to cool completely before removing from the baking paper.
  • Serve with berry coulis or compôte and dollops or drizzles of cream.

Notes

Adapted from Memories with Food

Ingredients: Eggs, Milk and cream, Nuts and seeds, Sugar, Sweet

Nancy Anne Harbord

Welcome! I'm Nancy. I specialise in fresh, colourful dishes that show just how wonderful vegetarian food can be. I work as a food photographer, food stylist, prop stylist, recipe developer and chef – See my portfolio

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