These beautiful Easter Egg Meringue Nests are made with simple pavlovas filled with buttercream frosting and Cadbury mini chocolate eggs. They are a great spring holiday dessert.
Do you get excited for Easter? We sure do. The overwhelming feeling of a rebirth and new life is exciting.
Each year I like to celebrate by making at least one special treat for the family. One of my favorites are these Easter Egg Meringue Nests.
I love them because not only are they adorable yet still have that classy feel. Not too cutesy and so tasty too.
But you know they are just as easy to make as regular meringue cookies – which I also love.
These are basically a personal size pavlova since they are a bit larger than a meringue cookie, but then we add the buttercream frosting to make it look like twigs. It also helps to keep those Cadbury eggs in the nest until ready to enjoy.
meringue nests
Here are some commonly asked questions
What is the best way to store leftover meringue nests?
So once you add the frosting, you will want to enjoy these within the same day. You can keep them at room temperature until then. But the frosting can make them soggy.
BEFORE adding the frosting and eggs – the key is to make sure the meringues are completely cooled before packing them in an airtight container. If they have any warmth to them at all once they are packed – the warmth will create just enough condensation to ruin the texture of the meringue.
Once completely cooled – you can keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. I have heard that they can be frozen so long as they don’t get any moisture in the container. But I personally don’t like to do that.
Can meringue nests be made in a different flavor?
Yes – you bet! If you would like to make these in chocolate instead of the traditional meringue flavor – check out my Dark Chocolate Meringue recipe. Mix the ingredients as instructed in that recipe and then follow the piping and baking instructions for this recipe here.
Easter Egg Nests
Can this recipe be doubled?
You can, and we do it often. It might take a bit longer to get all those egg whites to whip to the proper peaks, but overall doubling works fine.
Can I use a sugar substitute?
Yes – you can use a sugar substitute to make meringues. Be sure to read the packaging since a lot of them aren’t a 1:1 replacement. I think brands like Splenda call for 1/2 as much as what the recipe calls for in sugar.
Easter Nests
This recipe calls for a stand mixer. Can I also make this recipe by hand?
Because of the speed at which the egg whites need to be whipped in order to reach the stiff peaks stage, I don’t recommend trying to make this recipe by hand. You can try it with a hand mixer – but even that will be quite an arm workout.
Can meringues be made with confectioner’s sugar?
You bet they can! Use 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar for this recipe. Make sure it is well-sifted before measuring.
egg meringue
How do I properly measure the confectioner’s sugar?
The official way is to spoon the sugar into the measuring cup & level off. This makes sure the sugar isn’t packed tightly into your measuring cup, adding more than you need, as that will make your recipe too dry.
Sometimes if you fluff the sugar with a spoon, then gently scoop it into the measuring cup, taking care to not pack it in – that can work. But for THIS RECIPE you will need to use the spoon and level method.
Can meringues be made with meringue powder?
Yes – you can do that too! Use the same measurements as you would when using powdered egg whites.
Easter Birds Nests
HOW DO YOU MAKE MERINGUE NESTS?
- Preheat the oven to 250F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed in a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the granulated sugar slowly, about 1 tbsp at a time– it should take 2-3 minutes to add all of the sugar.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, turn the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form– another 1-2 minutes.
- Pipe the mixture into 3” diameter discs onto the baking sheet and use a spoon to create a well in the center of each meringue.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the meringues are firm and dry but not brown on top.
- Turn off the oven and leave them to cool inside– about 1-2 hours.
- While the meringues cool, add the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until it becomes smooth and fluffy.
- Next, add the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream and beat on medium speed until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy– make sure to scrape down the sides a few times.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe it into the center of the meringue nests.
- Top with a few mini eggs and serve immediately.
egg white meringue
Ingredients for Easter Egg Meringue Nests
- egg whites
- granulated sugar
- butter – softened
- confectioner’s sugar
- heavy cream
- Cadbury mini eggs
Can meringues be made with powdered egg whites?
Yes! You can use powdered egg whites + water – (1 teaspoon of egg whites & 1 tablespoon of water for each egg you wish to replace) to replace the eggs in this recipe.
egg nests
Why did my meringues crack?
Sometimes because of the delicate nature of the meringue whip it can separate as it drying out. If you want to avoid this, I recommend using Cream of Tartar. It helps stabilize the egg whites and prevent the dreaded cracking. If you don’t have it, this recipe can definitely be made without it!
What is Caster Sugar?
Caster sugar, sometimes also spelled castor sugar is basically a super-fine grain sugar. Smaller than granulated sugar but not quite ground to the point of being confectioner’s sugar.
When shopping for Caster sugar you can also look for Superfine Sugar or Baker’s Sugar.
egg white meringue cookies
Can I use caster sugar in place of granulated sugar?
This recipe calls for granulated sugar. But, because of its ultrafine texture, making it easier to dissolve in the mixing process, you can use caster sugar instead.
When substituting with caster sugar, but it might take a bit less time for the sugar to emulsify into the egg whites during the mixing process. You will also end up with a slightly lighter meringue due to the shorter mixing time.
What else can I make with Cadbury Mini Eggs?
Cadbury mini eggs are one of my favorite treats – ever! So I am always looking for ways to add them to recipes. Check out some of my favorites here.
meringue nest recipe
Products I love when making Easter Egg Meringue Nests…
This meringue nest recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me this time of year, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made meringues before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love them. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this meringue recipe.
- confectioner’s sugar
- Cadbury mini eggs
- Cadbury Mini Eggs – Shimmer
- egg whites
- meringue powder
- granulated sugar
- caster sugar
- mixer
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- Silpat
- piping bag
- open star piping tip
- round piping tip
mini pavlovas
If you love this Easy Meringue Nest recipe, you’re going to love these other Easter Recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
individual pavlovas
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Easter Egg Meringue Nests
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 bag Cadbury mini eggs 10 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed in a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the granulated sugar slowly, about 1 tbsp at a time– it should take 2-3 minutes to add all of the sugar.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, turn the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form– another 1-2 minutes.
- Pipe the mixture into 3” diameter discs onto the baking sheet and use a spoon to create a well in the center of each meringue.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the meringues are firm and dry but not brown on top.
- Turn off the oven and leave them to cool inside– about 1-2 hours.
- While the meringues cool, add the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until it becomes smooth and fluffy.
- Next, add the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream and beat on medium speed until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy– make sure to scrape down the sides a few times.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe it into the center of the meringue nests.
- Top with a few mini eggs and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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