44 meringue recipes perfect for a dinner party
Here is our selection of the best triple-tested meringue recipes, from Eton mess and meringue roulades to a 40-second microwavable meringue recipe!
Meringues can be tricky to get right, so if you're looking to learn how to make meringues perfectly, you've come to the right place.
Firstly, ensure your eggs are at room temperature as they'll be much easier to whisk up.
Use an electric hand whisk and don't be tempted to speed things up by going for the fastest setting from the start - slow and steady wins the race when making meringues.
Add your sugar to the egg whites a little at a time when whisking. And the best sugar to use for a crisp on the outside/melting on the inside meringue is white caster sugar.
The ideal point to a meringue is a tiff peak - one that doesn't collapse back on itself.
The general rule is to use a low oven temperature (between 140°C/120°C fan - 110°C/90°C fan). Bake the meringues for at least an hour, or until they peel easily away from the parchment. If your oven is too hot, they lose their pristine whiteness and turn a sad shade of beige.
Raspberry and rose meringue stack
Decorated with raspberries and pretty pink rose petals, this meringue recipe has wow factor. The filling is also flavoured with rose water and filled with freeze dried raspberries.
Rhubarb and ginger meringue stack
Perfect for rhubarb season, this meringue stack is one of our favourite rhubarb recipes. When choosing rhubarb, pick the pinkest stalks you can find to make this showstopping dessert pop on the dinner table.
Meringue Nest Wreath with Plum and Mascarpone
Shop-bought meringue nests speed up this eye-catching pudding. The plums have a lovely jammy flavour, but you could swap them for fresh berries (skipping step 1 altogether) if you like.
Mulled Clementine Meringue Wreath
Once the meringue is cooked, this impressive wreath comes together quickly.
No-Churn Plum Meringue Ice Cream
This ice cream doesn’t require an ice cream machine and couldn’t be easier to make! Swap the plums for another stoned fruit if you like.
Recipe: No-Churn Plum Meringue Ice Cream
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
With a citrussy sponge, curd filling and towering meringue topping, these sweet treats are lemon meringue pie in cupcake form. Making meringue with a hot sugar syrup makes it more stable, so these can be made well in advance.
Recipe: Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Rhubarb Meringue Pie
The biscuits in the pastry add subtle gingery warmth and help keep the pie case crisp.
Recipe: Rhubarb Meringue Pie
Tiramisu Meringue Roulade
This meringue roulade has all the classic flavours of a delicious tiramisu
Recipe: Tiramisu Meringue Roulade
Espresso Martini Meringue Tart
All of the rich, dark flavours of an espresso martini in a showstopper tart! Wow your guests with this decadent centre piece.
Recipe: Espresso Martini Meringue Tart
Lemon and Pistachio Meringue Layer Cake
Crisp mallowy layers of meringue flecked with toasted pistachios are sandwiched together with a heavenly elderflower cream and tangy lemon curd in this indulgent dessert – what’s not to love? It’s super easy to make, too. The meringues can be made ahead, so all you have to do is whip the cream and assemble before serving.
Mini meringues
All the best parties have a show-stopping finale - and our gorgeous tower of individual meringues is sure to impress guests.
Recipe: Mini meringues
Microwavable meringues in 40 seconds
Cook these speedy meringues in the microwave in just 40 seconds.
Recipe: Microwavable meringues in 40 seconds
Chocolate-dipped brown sugar meringues
A mixture of light muscovado and golden caster sugar gives these meringues their delicious toffee flavour.
Recipe: Chocolate-dipped brown sugar meringues
Pear and almond meringue cake
Follow this meringue recipe for a fresh and fruity cake that can be made up to 24 hours a head.
Recipe: Pear and almond meringue cake
Toasted hazelnut meringue cake
Lemon and mango meringue
This lemon and mango meringue cake is deceptively easy to make, yet the magical combination of fruit, meringue and cream never fails to impress.
Recipe: Lemon and mango meringue cake
Coffee cloud meringues
These billowing beauties look fit to be displayed in a patisserie window. The addition of coffee helps to keep the centres of the meringues soft and mallowy.
Recipe: Coffee cloud meringues
Pastel meringues
Berry meringue stack
This layered pavlova is so easy to assemble and can be easily decorated to look even more decadent.
Recipe: Berry meringue stack
Hazelnut raspberry meringue stack
Don’t be timid when serving up this beauty – plunging in with a knife to slice is the easiest way.
Recipe: Hazelnut raspberry meringue stack
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
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