Lemon Meringue Kisses

I first saw these on one of my favourite blogs Joy the Baker and immediately bookmarked it.  I finally got round to making them and decided it would make an excellent birthday gift for my friend P along with some lovely homemade truffles. Next post will be the birthday cake as requested by the birthday girl. Apologies for being a bit slow with blogging lately. 

These meringue kisses really taste like a dream. Unforunately, I only got to try 1/2 of one as I didn't make enough. I have to admit they were very difficult to give away as I wanted to eat them all! 

The meringue was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.  This is the first time I've made my own lemon curd and I'm wondering why I've never made it before. It's really easy to make and tastes really refreshing and goes well sandwiched between 2 perfect little bites of meringue.

As before, I placed them in a really cute box which I also got from paperchase and finished it with a bow. The birthday girl was extremely pleased :) Happy birthday again P! 

 whip egg whites until stiff 

 pipe little stars. Some of them look a little messy! 

 cooking the lemon curd 

 almost there...

 voila! 

 cooked meringues 

 aren't they cute? 

 I love this box! 

For the meringue

2 large egg whites

pinch of salt

150g sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 90C. 
• Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper. 
• Whisk egg whites in an electric mixer until foamy.
• Add salt and increase speed to medium-high.
• Slowly sprinkle in the sugar.
• Continue to beat eggs until they become thick, glossy and hold stiff peaks.
• Fold in lemon zest and vanilla extract.
• Spoon into piping bag.
• Pipe little stars as shown using a star tip onto the baking sheets. 
• Using the back of a spoon, flatten out half of the stars, making them as flat as possible (for the bottom) but not necessarily making them larger. 
• Bake for 2 hours until they are no longer sticky. 
• Store in an airtight container. 

For the lemon curd

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

115g sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

pinch of salt

85g butter

• Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl and set aside.
• In a medium pot, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks and pinch of salt.
• Place the pot over a medium-low heat and add the butter.
• Stir the mixture with a whisk.  You may want to use a spatula to scrape down the edges. 
• Cook the curd until the butter is melted and the mixture is the thickness of warm hot fudge. 
• Remove from the heat and immediately pour into the fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. 
• Press through the sieve leaving any cooked egg bits in the strainer. 
• Place curd in a sterilised jar and store in the fridge. 

To make lemon meringue kisses

• Place 1 teaspoon of lemon curd on a 'flat' star and top with another similar sized star. 
• Serve immediately if possible.