These beauties are crunchy, soft and incredibly delicious. They are super fun and easy to make but melt so quickly in your mouth. You can make them any size, shapes (circular or square) and decorate in endless ways.
The baskets are similar to Pavlova or the Boccone Dolce cake. I actually use my Boccone Dolce meringue recipe to make these. I’ve made them countless times and the recipe never fails. They may be decorated with any fruit, filled with any cream you like, and drizzled with chocolate. However, if you use a cream containing sour cream or Greek yogurt, you should fill the baskets right before serving as they may soften the meringue.
This is my
… favorite dessert of all time; I just love meringue! I’ll be honest with you, I have the hardest time not going for seconds. All my family absolutely loves them just as much as the Boccone Dolce Cake. Since these are much quicker and easier to make, I make them more frequently than the cake. I have no doubt that they will become your favorite as well! 🙂
Ingredients:
10 – egg whites (large eggs)
3 cups (725 g) – baker’s sugar (or granulated sugar)
5 cups (1200 ml) – heavy cream
1 cup (225 g) – confectioners’ sugar
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 270 F (132 C). Beat egg whites and sugar on high for 10 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl with a rubber spatula, and mix again on high for 5 more minutes.
2. Pipe out the baskets in a circular motion using 1M large cupcake tip attachment.
3. Use a flat Insulated Aluminum Cookie Sheet to transfer parchment paper with piped meringue baskets directly onto the oven wire racks. Bake for 7 minutes at 270 F (132 C), then reduce the heat to 220 (105 C) and allow them to bake/dry for 1 hour and 30 minutes more. Then turn the oven off and let the meringues cool completely in the oven. (Do not open the oven door while they’re cooling as the temperature will drastically change and cause the meringue to crack.)
Cream Instructions:
Beat cream and confectioners’ sugar for a minute or just as soon as it becomes thick. Do not over beat.
Pipe cream into cooled meringue baskets all the way to the top. Decorate baskets with the fruit of your choice. (I used frosted cranberries this time. Kiwi and strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry tend to be popular choices.)
- 10 - egg whites large room temperature eggs
- 3 cups 725 g – baker’s sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 5 cups 1200 ml – heavy cream
- 1 cup 225 g – confectioners’ sugar
- Fruits for decorations
- Preheat oven to 270 F (132 C). Beat egg whites and sugar on high for 10 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl with a rubber spatula, and mix again on high for 5 more minutes.
- Pipe out the baskets in a circular motion using 1M large cupcake tip attachment.
- Use a flat Insulated Aluminum Cookie Sheet to transfer parchment paper with piped meringue baskets directly onto the oven wire racks. Bake for 7 minutes at 270 F (132 C), then reduce the heat to 220 (105 C) and allow them to bake/dry for 1 hour and 30 minutes more. Then turn the oven off and let the meringues cool completely in the oven. (Do not open the oven door while they're cooling as the temperature will drastically change and cause the meringue to crack.)
- Cream Instructions:
- Beat cream and confectioners’ sugar for a minute or just as soon as it becomes thick. Do not over beat.
- Pipe cream into cooled meringue baskets all the way to the top. Decorate baskets with the fruit of your choice. (I used frosted cranberries this time. Kiwi and strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry tend to be popular choices.)
Store them in the fridge uncovered. (Covering will soften the meringue.) If you decorate with Frosty Cranberries, be sure to decorate immediately before serving (as the cranberries are sugared, and the sugar will dissolve in the moist of the cream). The rest of the fruit is fine to decorate with at the time of cream piping.With the right cream, they keep well in the fridge. (I’ve had them refrigerated for as long as 2 days before and they stay the same, except for some discoloring of the fruit.) Have fun making these!
If you make this Meringue Fruit Baskets recipe please share a picture with me on Snapchat, Instagram or Pinterest. Tag with #valyastasteofhome,. I’d love to see your creations! 🙂
Need mere individual beautiful dessert recipes? Here are some to choose from:
EDIBLE DESSERT BASKETS
OLD STUMP DESSERT
Kitchen items I used in making this recipe:
(If you need any of these items, simply press on the picture to order)
Natasha
November 11, 2016 at 1:23 pmThese are absolutely gorgeous!!! I will be making them soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 11, 2016 at 1:57 pmThank you Natasha! They are so delicious as well. Let me know how they turn out for you. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
Joy Lackey
November 11, 2016 at 2:24 pmI’ll be making these for a dinner party Dec 4. I’ll be doing something a tad different for my dairy-free friends, but most of them will be as per your glorious recipe!!
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 11, 2016 at 3:06 pmThat’s awesome! What is the dairy substitute you are going to use? Come back and share your feedback with me. Thank you very much for commenting and have fun making these Joy 🙂
Kristina
November 11, 2016 at 4:06 pmDo these refrigerate well? Or will they become very soft from the refrigerator?
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 11, 2016 at 4:21 pmThey refrigerate well. Do not cover them, just leave them on a platter or a box as they are. Covering them with a lid will make the meringue soft. Thank you for asking Kristina 🙂
Olya
November 12, 2016 at 11:17 amValechka these look soooo good! I really want to try making them! ?Quick question, do egg whites have to be room temperature? And do you bake them without a pan, just on parchment paper? Thanks?
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 12, 2016 at 1:05 pmHi dear. I mentioned in the post that the eggs need to be room temperature. The egg whites wheat up better that way. Also, I use cookie baking sheet to transfer parchment paper with piped meringue baskets directly onto oven wire racks (so the baskets are baked directly on parchment paper not on a pan). I hope this clarifies bit more. Thank you very much for asking 🙂
Manuela
November 14, 2016 at 11:48 pmI’ll make it as soon as possible! Cant’t wait anymore! The explanations are very clear. Thank you
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 14, 2016 at 11:59 pmHi Manuela! I’m glad you find my recipe instructions easy to follow. Let me know how these meringue baskets turn out for you. And thank you very much for kind words! 🙂
Wendy
November 17, 2016 at 5:33 amYour photo’s are fabulous! My late mom used to make these and add in a splash of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of vinegar – they were exceptional and her guests used to wolf them down.
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 17, 2016 at 9:33 amThank you Wendy. Adding vanilla is a good idea, I’ll will try it next time I make it. I’m not sure why would she added vinegar. Let me know, I’m just curious. Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting 🙂
Wendy
November 17, 2016 at 9:47 pmI’m not sure why she used it either! Maybe to ‘cut through the extreme sweetness’ – she also used it in other baking recipes sometimes and she was a star baker! Her meringues were lighter than air and so crisp – so maybe that was why.
Tzivia
November 17, 2016 at 3:43 pmOmg wow Vala yo these look very stunning and so very yummmm these meringues totally scream winter maybe for chanukah or just a random winter day great job sweetheart gotta try cheers
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 17, 2016 at 4:11 pmThank you very much dear 🙂
rose natalie
November 19, 2016 at 12:18 pmCan these be shipped for a thanksgiving gift?
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 19, 2016 at 8:43 pmI wouldn’t ship it decorated. Dry meringues should be fine to ship.
Karina
November 22, 2016 at 11:01 pmHi, I made these today, and they are very hard. I thought they are supposed to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside?
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 23, 2016 at 10:55 amHi Karina. I guess I don’t know what you mean by hard. They are pretty crispy after baking and they soften a little after they stay filled with cream for at least 4 hours in the fridge. The entire basket shell is crispy not soft inside like a regular meringue cookie would be.
Karina
November 23, 2016 at 11:16 amOh ,ok thanks for clarifying, I thought they were supposed to be like Pavlovas.
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 23, 2016 at 11:35 amYou are very welcome Karina 🙂
Holly A
November 23, 2016 at 1:13 pmThese look absolutely gorgeous!! I have my meringue in the oven now, making these as a refreshing dessert for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner! First time ever making meringue myself, and with a little difficulty, managed to get them piped and in the oven. Excited to see how they turn out!
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 23, 2016 at 1:19 pmThat’s awesome Holly! I’m excited for you! Let me know how they turn out for you and how you like them. Have a very blessed Thanksgiving! 🙂
Yulya
November 23, 2016 at 7:37 pmHello Valya!
I made your boccone dolce cake several times and it turned out AMAZING. Thank you for wonderful recipes. Ltitle pavlovas are I the oven right now, but I have a question: what can I make with left over yolk? Feel bad just throwing them away. Thank you. Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 23, 2016 at 10:05 pmHi Yulya. I am so happy to hear that Boccone Dolce cake turned out amazing. I use egg yokes to make Lemon Pie https://www.valyastasteofhome.com/super-easy-lemon-pie-recipe/ and some other recipes I will post later. Thank you for awesome review. Have a blessed Thanksgiving as well! 🙂
Olya
November 25, 2016 at 12:02 pmValechka I made your meringue baskets for Thanksgiving dessert and everyone loved it! They stayed nice and crispy! I’ll be making these often now, since its hubbys favorite dessert! Thank you Valechka as always for simple, great recipe! Your rcipes never failed me! ?
valya'stasteofhome.com
November 25, 2016 at 1:15 pmWow! That’s quite a compliment! Thank you very much for such an amazing review! It’s one of our family favorites too. They are so cute and simple to make. Have a wonderful Christmas dear! 🙂
Gabriele Harmon
December 8, 2016 at 6:16 amI tried these last night but just couldn’t get my meringue thick enough to set in baskets. I don’t have a mixer so I used my hand mixer. It thickened, but nothing to what I needed to be, and it mixed much longer than 15 min… Any suggestions? Thanks.
valya'stasteofhome.com
December 8, 2016 at 11:23 amYes, it was not beaten enough. Hand mixer will take about 45 minutes to beat to get this consistency and even then I don’t even know if it will. You need to beat it with very powerful mixer. Any stand mixer or Kitchen Aid does perfect job.
Oa never |No plate Like Home
January 30, 2017 at 1:51 pmThese are gorgeous! They are so festive for Christmas and don’t look complicated.
valya'stasteofhome.com
January 31, 2017 at 4:41 pmThank you! You can use any summer berries for the fruit topping and it can be a summer dessert 😉
Miriam
March 21, 2017 at 3:02 pmValya, can I add chopped up toasted nuts to my meringue before I bake them?
valya'stasteofhome.com
March 21, 2017 at 4:24 pmHi Marina. You sure can.
Julie
May 7, 2017 at 8:44 amThese are stunning! I think I’m going to try them with something seasonal like raspberries!
valya'stasteofhome.com
May 7, 2017 at 10:01 amHi Julie! Yes, you can top it with fruit of your choice. Enjoy!
Jane Miklovic
June 15, 2017 at 9:34 amJust wondering if you have ever frozen the baskets without the filling? Thanks.
valya'stasteofhome.com
June 15, 2017 at 11:21 amNo, I have not. The meringue will soften after thawing. I hope that helps. Thank you!
Zinab
February 14, 2019 at 7:41 amThey look amazing❤
For people who asked if they can freeze the meringue; sure they stay crispy. I have done that many times and for more than a month, they stayed perfectly crispy as fresh! I put some orange zest in air_tight container with the meringue to avoid the smell of the egg ????
I hope this helps ????
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home
February 14, 2019 at 7:49 pmWow! Thank you for experimenting that. That will help many so much! I really appreciate you coming back and leaving such an amazing tip! 🙂
Rachel
February 26, 2018 at 3:18 amI guess for my first time I shouldn’t be surprised they don’t look like yours! Perfect!!!! But they were a success. Topped with lemon curd and fresh blueberries! Can’t wait to try again!
www.valyastasteofhome.com
February 26, 2018 at 12:08 pmPractice makes perfect! Im happy to hear that this recipe was a success for you. Meringue, lemon curd, and blueberries are the perfect combination. I would love to see the picture of your beautiful creation. You can share it with my private Facebook group or any other social media. Thank you for sharing your experience with me! 🙂
Trudy
November 5, 2018 at 1:35 pmI’ve been dying to try a meringue dessert since traveling to Europe and I think this is it! Please tell me what you did to the fruit to make it glisten so! Thank you.
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home
November 5, 2018 at 10:56 pmHere is the recipe for Frosty Cranberries
Judy Anderson
December 14, 2018 at 9:50 amHi Valya, these look awesome! Can the recipe be halved?
Thanks, Judy
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home
December 14, 2018 at 10:52 amYes, simple half the ingredients. Thank you!
Wendi
March 28, 2019 at 7:32 amHi, I tried these yesterday and they went in bright white and came out a a little brown. How do I fix that??
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home
March 28, 2019 at 9:31 amHi Wendi! So, sounds like your oven is much stronger than mine. Try to reduce the temperature to 200 and baking time to 1 hour and 15 minutes instead (also, do not bake on convention settings as it’s too powerful for meringue). They will not be bright white after baking as before baking. They should be more of a off white color after baking. I hope this help! 🙂
Wendi
March 29, 2019 at 8:01 amThank you and I was using convection. They still tased good 😉
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home
March 29, 2019 at 1:32 pmI’m glad you found out the solution! Practice makes perfect. Thank you for your comments! 🙂