Key Lime Meringue Nests

The perfect warm weather dessert, these Key Lime Meringue Nests are vanilla meringues filled with decadent white chocolate key lime ganache, topped with fresh fruit.

We are finally expecting spring-like weather! YAAAYY! With the warmer weather ahead, my mind has turned to easy, colourful desserts for outdoor entertaining, like these Key Lime Meringue Nests. Think... Mother's Day brunch!

I call these lazy desserts. A look around my blog and you will quickly learn that I make everything from scratch. However, when a friend shows up with a broken heart, a  six-pack of pre-mixed girly drinks and a box of meringue nests, you play along. I was a little confused by her bag of randomness, but who among us hasn't done some strange shit when love goes south.

After a couple drinks and a whole lot of sobbing and cussing, I took a look at the box of meringues sitting on the counter between us and rolled my eyes. I looked back at my friend and asked if she had planned to use them for shots, at which she laughed/cried/laughed...

Mood lightened, I went to the fridge and dug up some containers of leftover ganache I'd recently made for filling bonbons. Of the five flavours, we settled on key lime, her favourite dessert. I scooped some out and filled a piping bag, which I then placed in a cup of warm water to soften the chilled ganache. All the while listening to her contemplate out loud how, why and where things might have gone wrong with the relationship. Once piped into the shells I topped with fruits, mint leaves and sprinkles (proven cure for a broken heart).

Two Key Lime Meringue Nests between us, a couple rounds of mortal combat and a few more girly drinks later, the tears and expletives turned to giggles. I guess you can call me the broken heart whisperer. Watch out Cesar Millan... 🙂

My preference is for a meringue with a crisp outer shell that gives way to a marshmallow-y interior - these store-bought shells were far from that. Normally, that would turn me off, but they worked for this application. Once the moisture from the filling had a chance to permeate the shell, it created a perfect balance of creamy and crunchy textures.

The star was definitely the key lime ganache - creamy, tangy and sweet all at once. I've adapted from one of my chocolate confections course recipes. The original included egg yolks, which provided a brilliant yellow colour, shine and body. I've cut the recipe in half and omitted the egg yolks in the version below and increased the chocolate. Having tried both, I am leaning toward the egg version - it had a much nicer mouth feel. This type of ganache, with the egg yolks, is meant primarily for truffles and bonbons.

I had three shells left in the package and decided to make them the following day so that I could photograph and share them with you, plus, you know... have a second helping. 😉 Shockingly, the Dude really liked them, so I had to share. Although these Key Lime Meringue Nests didn't mend a broken, they allowed for a brief, sweet interlude - something we could all use, heartbreak or not.

Key Lime Meringue Nests

The perfect warm weather dessert, these Key Lime Meringue Nests are vanilla meringues filled with decadent white chocolate key lime ganache and fresh fruit.

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Servings: 0

Author: I Sugar Coat It

Ingredients

Meringue Nests:

• 1 recipe meringues or store bought

Key Lime Ganache:

• 75 grams whipping cream
• 25 grams glucose
• 250 grams white chocolate chopped
• 75 grams fresh key lime juice or regular limes
• a touch of green food colouring optional

Instructions

To make the meringue:

• Follow the instructions from the recipe link above and pipe flat, round discs onto a parchment or silicone line baking sheet, using a plain tip. You can use a small offset spatula to smooth and level the discs after piping. Using a decorative tip, like a 1B or French, pipe a wall around the outer edge of the disc. Bake as per recipe.

To make ganache:

• Add cream and glucose to a medium saucepan and bring to a light boil.
• Gradually whisk in the egg yolks.
• Pour the mixture over the white chocolate, while still hot and stir with a whisk until smooth and homogeneous. If all the chocolate does not melt, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until melted, or use an immersion blender.
• Stir in lime juice and allow to cool.

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