Meringues with peach cream, strawberries & balsamic glaze

Method

1. Heat the oven to 110˚C/90˚C fan-assisted/gas mark ¼. Put the egg whites and lemon juice into a clean bowl or food mixer. Whisk until the whites double in volume and hold a peak when the whisk is drawn through them. Keep the whisk running and add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next. Whisk until all the sugar has been added and the whites are glossy. Rub the egg whites between your fingers to make sure it isn’t grainy. If the sugar hasn’t dissolved into the egg white it will seep during cooking, making the meringue soggy.
2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Draw circles about 7cm in diameter (make 10 just in case – you will have some extra meringues but they will keep well in an air-tight container). Spoon the meringue mix into a piping bag with a plain or star nozzle and pipe a thin layer on the bottom of the circle. Pipe two or three rings around the outside of the circle to build walls for the filling to sit inside. Bake for two hours until they are crisp and lift easily off the paper. Leave to cool completely.
3. Peel the peaches and cut the flesh away from the stone. Put into a saucepan with two tablespoons of water and cook for about 5 minutes until the peaches are soft. Mash with the back of a fork. You can leave slightly lumpy or mash until smooth. Set aside to cool.
4. In a bowl, mix together the mascarpone and crème fraîche.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream into soft peaks. Stir the cooled peach mash into the mascarpone mixture, then fold through the whipped cream.
6. Top the meringue nests with the peach cream, sliced strawberries and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.