Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 200°F with the rack in
2. the middle position. Line a rimmed baking
3. sheet with parchment paper; reserve.
4. 2. Put the egg whites in a large, non-plastic,
5. mixing bowl. Using the whisk, start
6. mixing on Speeds 1 to 2 and beat until
7. frothy, about 30 to 60 seconds. Add the
8. lemon juice, gradually increase to Speed
9. 5 and whip until soft peaks form.
10. 3. With the mixer running still on Speed 5,
11. very gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time,
12. add the sugar to the whipping egg whites
13. (do not rush this process or the meringue
14. will not be as stable and may not whip to
15. the necessary stiffness. Be patient!). Once
16. all the sugar has been added, increase
17. to Speed 7 and continue mixing until the
18. meringue holds stiff peaks, about 5 to 8
19. minutes in total. Add the vanilla extract
20. and mix to combine.
21. 4. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag
22. fitted with a star tip (any size or shape
23. of star will work). First apply a bit of the
24. meringue to a few spots on the underside
25. of the parchment so that it sticks to the
26. pan. Pipe the meringues, making about a
27. 2- to 3-inch round, and then finishing the
28. spiral shape in the center. Leave about 2
29. inches between each meringue. You may
30. need two pans to accommodate the
31. full recipe.
32. 5. Transfer the meringues to the preheated
33. oven and bake until light, crisp and stiff,
34. but where the meringues have picked up
35. no color. This should take about 1 hour,
36. but this is a rough estimate since it is
37. based on the oven being used and the
38. humidity of the room (it could take as little
39. as 45 minutes, or as long as 2 hours).
40. 6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool
41. on a wire rack. Once completely cooled,
42. meringues can be stored in a sealed
43. container at room temperature for up to
44. five days.
45. 7. When ready to serve, fill with the
46. sweetened whipped cream and top with
47. the mixed berries.