Meringue & Lemon Curd Sunny Side Ups

Ha, made you 👀! What looks like fried eggs 🍳 are actually our Meringue & Lemon Curd Sunny Side Ups. Melt-in-your-mouth meringue pairs eggs-ellently (sorry, we couldn’t hep it! 😆) with tart lemon curd, so these conversation starters most definitely deserve a spot on your Easter table! Of course we have an amazing lemon curd recipe, but good store bought (we’ve used Trader Joe’s English Lemon Curd) will do just as well, which makes for a fairly quick preparation time. So have that Easter grass and a platter at the ready and be prepared to charm your guests! 🐇🐇 xoxo K&D

Ingredients

makes about 25 meringues

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup (105 g) granulated sugar

1/3 cup (40 g) confectioners’ sugar

cooking spray

Have ready: rubber spatula, small ice cream scoop or soup spoon, small spoon, small bowl of water, paper towels.

For presentation: platter, Easter grass

Instructions

Preheat oven to 225 F (110 C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If you’re using the silicone baking mats, spray lightly with cooking spray. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the confectioners’ sugar over the whites and fold in well, using a rubber spatula. Do not overfold, we need air in the meringues!

Using a small ice cream scoop or a soup spoon, scoop out a bit of the meringue (think ping-pong ball size) at a time and place it evenly spaced on the baking sheets. Dip a small spoon into a bowl of water and with the back of the spoon, spread each meringue out slightly and form a little hollow in each one. Wipe the spoon on a paper towel and redip into the water bowl for each meringue. It will make this step less sticky. Bake 50-55 minutes until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper. Don’t let them get brown. Remove from heat, and let cool before piping in the lemon curd. If you’re intent on making your own lemon curd, find our delicious recipe below! Otherwise store bought is fine. Prepare a piping bag by cutting the tip off to leave an opening of about 1/2 of an inch (1 cm). Fill the lemon curd into the piping bag and then pipe into the hollow of the meringue until you have a mound. Spread Easter grass out evenly on a large platter and arrange the “eggs” on top of the grass.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar (150 g)

6 tablespoons (90 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Have a sieve suspended over a bowl ready near the stove. In a heavy noncorrodible saucepan, combine the egg yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 6 minutes, until thickened and resembling hollandaise sauce. It should thickly coat the back of a wooden spoon, but still be liquid enough to pour. (A candy thermometer will read 196F/91C.) The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and will turn a yellow color. It must not be allowed to boil or it will curdle. (It will steam above 140F/60C. If this happens, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly to prevent boiling).

When the curd has thickened, pour it into the strainer. Press it with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue. Stir in the lemon zest. Pipe onto meringues.