Blueberry & Whipped Cream Aquafaba Meringue Nests

If you haven’t discovered aquafaba yet then you’re in for a treat. Basically, that gooey liquid at the bottom of a tin of beans that we used to chuck away – works in very similar ways to eggs. Yes, aquafaba is just posh for ‘bean water’! Since this discovery, over-excited, sugared-up vegans and other experimental foodies across the planet have been experimenting in an absolutely amazing way. This stuff makes meringues. Proper meringues. Seriously. No, they don’t taste weird. And nobody gets hurt.

This recipe was taken straight from our Everybody’s Going Dairy-free Guide (over 95 pages full of recipes, handy charts, helpful tips, dairy-free secrets, eating out and lots more)

Gluten free
Wheat free
Kids recipe

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Total time

160

Cuisine

British

Meal

  • vegan-desserts

Servings

6

Ingredients

Meringues

  • 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas/cannellini/butterbeans, drained. Use the liquid– approx. 180ml/¾ cup – to make the meringues. (Use the chickpeas in another recipe or freeze them for another time).
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar (optional)
  • 200g/1 cup caster sugar, preferably golden
  • 165g/ ½ cup blueberry jam, eg St Dalfour

Whipped Cream

  • 800ml/3 ¼ cup thick coconut cream, eg Blue Dragon
  • ¼ tsp cream of tartar (optional)
  • 4 tbsp icing sugar, sieved

OR

Cheatin’ Cream Alternative

  • 2 tubs Oatly Creamy Oat Fraiche, a vegan crème fraiche. Keep chilled until just before it is needed

Blueberry Sauce

  • 150g/1 ½ cups blueberries
  • 60ml maple syrup, agave or other vegan syrup
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1½ tsp cornflour
  • Pinch salt
  • 60ml/ ¼ cup water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Meringues

  1. Heat the blueberry jam on a low-med heat for a few minutes then strain through a sieve to discard the solids. Leave to cool.
  2. Line 1-2 baking trays with baking paper – crumple the paper first as this makes it sit on the tray more firmly.
  3. Using a glass or metal bowl, whisk the chickpea water with an electric whisk until it starts to turn white and frothy. Add the cream of tartar and whisk in.
  4. Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time and whisk until it is glossy and stiff. Depending how powerful your mixer is, this can take from 10-20 minutes. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down without the meringue fluff falling out.
  5. Midway through the beating, pre-heat your oven to 100°C/200°F/just under Gas Mark ¼.
  6. Transfer the stiff meringue mixture to a piping bag and pipe around 6 large dollops onto baking paper on a baking tray.
  7. Make an indentation in the centre of each meringue to hold the filling.
  8. Using the sieved blueberry jam, create a zigzag pattern over the meringues before putting into the oven.
  9. Bake for two hours then turn off the oven. Unclick the door and leave to cool for an hour before taking out. Gently peel away from paper. Once they’re cooled, store in an airtight container until the dessert is assembled.

Cream

  1. Chill the coconut cream in the fridge overnight – or in the freezer for half an hour but don’t let it actually freeze!
  2. When you’re ready to serve, scoop out the thick layer of cream and save the watery liquid for a future recipe.
  3. Beat the thick layer of coconut cream in a glass with the electric whisk and add the cream of tartar. Add the icing sugar gradually. Chill again until needed.

Blueberry Sauce

  1. Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan, bring to the boil until the blueberries start to pop (roughly 2 minutes). Stir throughout.
  2. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely before serving.

Assembly

Spoon equal portions of cream into each meringue then top with the blueberry sauce and optional mint and fresh blueberries.

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