Berries on a Cloud

One of my mom's (shout out to Marg!) very simple dessert treats she used to bake for us was Berries on a Cloud - fresh (or frozen) berries served atop a fresh pillow of meringue. It's so light and fluffy and very delicious, and as both a kid and adult, I loved to see these little pillows browning in the oven.

Turns out that one of Matt's favourite treats is meringue (of course, he seems to have a lot of favourite treats...he is a bit of a sugar monster!). Luckily for him, though, I don't mind baking. Instead of a birthday cake this year, we celebrated with these heavenly meringue treats. Once I made the two big pillows, I had leftovers to make individual drops for Matt to enjoy later. And the great thing was, I had everything I needed on hand, including frozen fruit in the freezer. For this occasion, I opted for raspberries and a mint meringue, but feel free to experiment with different fruits and flavouring. 

Recipe:

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup frozen/fresh berries

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites, peppermint, and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating till stiff peaks form.
2. Drop onto greased or lined cookie sheets into large circles, making a small well in each (for the fruit to go later). Bake at 300 degrees about 20 minutes or until firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Let cool and then top with berries.

I'm sure a chocolate drizzle over top would be a great addition to this treat, as would a dollop of whipped cream...