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You just scrolled through 1.6 metres / 5.2 feet of melt-in-your-mouth crispy, light meringue, topped with whipped cream and piles of seasonal fruit, and didn’t break your screen reaching in to grab some!
Want to know how it’s made? Simple. Here’s the secret of the Never Ending Meringue:
4 tart shells – 2 ends and 2 middle pieces – baked on 2 trays. Then just glue them together with a dab of cream.
Yep, it’s as easy as that. 🙂
I promised this is easy, and in all honesty, I truly believe this to be easier to make than the Great Aussie Pav. The reason being that the Pav has height, and therefore is more delicate and has risk of collapsing during or after baking it. Also because of the marshmallow inside which sweats in hot summer weather, making the delicate dry meringue shell more fragile.
If you are determined to make a Pav in the height of summer, please please please follow my Pav recipe exactly as written. There’s nothing tricky about it, but there are very specific steps and reasons why I do things the way I do and to make a Pav in hot humid weather that comes out near perfectly crackless and is strong enough to sustain mounds of toppings.
But if you’re after a show stopper dessert that feeds loads of people that is easier to make and can be made 3+ days in advance, try this NEVER ENDING MERINGUE TART!!!
10 11 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE THE NEVER ENDING MERINGUE TART
- It looks fabulous
- But it’s not that hard to make – doesn’t matter if you make a mess of the meringue, it’s mostly covered up with toppings!
- It tastes indulgent but fresh and isn’t heavy (because meringue is mostly air!), and is far lower in calories than a slice of cake
- The risk factor is lower than Pav
- The tart shell can be made 3 – 5+ days in advance
- It’s cost effective: 5 to 6 egg whites makes 4 tart shells, each of which are cut into 4 generous slices or 5 normal slices = 16 to 20 servings.
- It can be made as long as you want!
- Feeds a crowd – compared to a large round cake which will typically serve 12
- Many topping options – cream, yoghurt, seasonal fresh fruit, canned fruit, stewed fruits.
- This will be remembered for years to come – YOUR dessert spectacular will be the talk of the town
- You watched the video and saw how I did the meringue test, and now you can’t resist making it. 🐶
This is not my invention. The idea for this recipe came from the great Mary Berry, her Meringue Tranche which she made in one of her cooking shows. I just love Mary Berry. One of Britain’s most beloved cooking icons, she’s what Maggie Beer is to Aussies and Ina Garten to Americans.
I’ve adapted it to my own, making mine longer and skinnier and also reducing the cook time to keep my meringue a lovely pure white.
Make the Never Ending Meringue Tart as long as you want by making multiple batches of the middle sections. The only restriction you have is finding a surface area long enough to assemble it!!! I made this for a Christmas Party I catered for my mother last weekend. Here it is with 5 pieces, 2 metres / 6.5 feet long. I had a couple of extra pieces that wouldn’t fit on the table which I just assembled separately.
One of the things I really love about the Never Ending Meringue Tart is that it’s not too rich. Yes, meringue is sweet, but it’s light as air. Each serving you see below has about 4 tbsp of whipped cream (~1.5 tbsp of un-whipped), plus the fruit. It looks like a generous serving but it doesn’t feel heavy, meaning you (eer, I mean, your family and friends) can still indulge in dessert even after a big meal and not feel too weighed down from a super rich dessert.
But let’s be honest here. I can talk to you about all the practical pros of this Never Ending Meringue Tart. But really, it’s all about you. And how you’ll be the talk of the town for years to come, about your famous Never Ending Tart.
Shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone how easy it actually is to make!!! – Nagi xx
PS Don’t stress about cracks, piped blobs being deformed and sticking in all directions (like mine!), and how messy your meringue looks. Once the topping’s on, no one notices a anything except how amazing the whole thing looks!
PPS Update: The Christmas Trifle that was scheduled for today has now been published – here it is! The Christmas Trifle I promised for today is still coming! I promise, I just ran out of time to do both today and there was so much demand for this one. If anyone really urgently needs the Trifle before Monday evening, here’s the recipe. Full post with steps and recipe video is coming on Monday!
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Never Ending Meringue Tranche (1.6 metres / 5.2 ft)
Ingredients
Meringue:
- 180 ml / 6 oz egg whites , 5 to 6 eggs (Note 1)
- 300 g / 10 oz caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Toppings:
- 600 ml / 20 oz heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 2 large mangoes
- 500 g / 1 lb strawberries (2 punnets)
- 450 g / 15 oz raspberries and blueberries (mix and match, 3 Aus punnets in total together)
Optional:
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting (optional)
- Chopped fresh mint
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat oven to 120C/250F (standard) or 100C/210F (fan/convection).
- Mark 2 rectangles 11 x 40 cm / 4.5 x 15" on a sheet of baking paper using pencil, with 2.5cm / 1" between each outline. Repeat with another sheet of paper (so 4 outlines).
- Find 2 baking trays large enough so the outline fits on the tray surface when the tray is turned upside down (rim gets in way of piping).
- Fit a large piping bag with a 11mm / 4.5" round nozzle. (Ziplock: Note 2)
Meringue:
- Separate the egg whites while the eggs are fridge cold.
- Place whites in a large clean, dry bowl. Whip until it all turns into foam and there's no liquid whites left (1 minute on speed 8 with KitchenAide).
- With the beater still going, add the sugar one heaped tablespoon at a time - about 1 minute.
- After the sugar is added, crank the beater up to speed 10 and whip for 1 minute. Fluff should be glossy and when you rub between fingers, there should be barely any sugar grit - a bit is ok.
Tart (video is helpful):
- Spoon half the meringue into piping bag (Note 3).
- Dab small amount on the corner of an upside down baking tray. Place paper on tray pencil marking side down.
- Pipe filling inside the lines - don't worry if there are gaps (loads in my video). Use dessert spoon to smooth surface - the base should be about 1/2 cm thick (rises to ~7 mm cooked).
- Pipe blobs along one short end (to make tart ends) and all along both long sides. Do this to both on Tray 1. Place in oven.
- Repeat with remaining meringues on Tray 2, but do not pipe blobs along the short end (these will be the middle pieces). Place in oven on shelf just below Tray 1.
- Use any remaining meringue to make extra small blobs (good for repairs / decoration / nibbling). Place this tray on the floor of oven.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then swap the two trays (tray with blobs not a priority, leave it!).
- Bake for further 30 minutes, then turn off the oven, keep door closed and leave to cool (can keep in oven even for days). Meringue should be dry and crisp, able to lift off paper.
Assembling:
- Place cream, vanilla and sugar in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
- Trim joining ends of meringues with knife so they are straight.
- Dab cream on cut end and join meringues. Assemble where you plan to serve.
- Spread over cream, top with fruit, dust with sugar. Serve immediately, and puff up with pride when lavished with compliments!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Meringue test!! I take back all those times I said he contributes nothing in the kitchen. I trust my meringue beating skills but still wasn’t going to risk it – just had my hair done! 😂
Sheesh Nagi! Your pav is as long as I’m tall LMAO. Going shopping tomorrow for the ingredients. How on earth can we have Chrissie without your pav now I’ve seen it. What a beauty! 🙂
I’m hosting a 50 person party, and was thinking of making a giant pavlova (or 2)… but this is way more impressive!! Just wondering though whether this is marshmallowy at all, as that’s my favourite part about pavs.
Hi Saritha! People keep telling me how they just love the applause they get when this is brought out!! 😂 Unfortunately no marshmallow here, it’s a dry meringue tart shell. The Marshmallow is what makes Pavs sweat and gives it the shorter shelf life than this one. I’ve made this days in advance and it’s still 100% perfect!
Another wonderful recipe to add to the to-do list. I have used so many of your recipes with success. Recently I made Sweet & Sour Vegetables from SFI, which we loved, and I always keep a jar of All-Purpose Chinese Sauce in the fridge.
In the pictures of the Christmas party there are individual antipastos, what a good idea. As well the the meats and cheese is there smoked salmon in there as well?
Hiii Anna! So glad you’re enjoying my recipes 🙂 There’s a note below with the list of all the items in the individual antipasto boats! N xx
Hi Nagi
This dessert is really beautiful. I am a baker but live in Florida and doing a meringue is a challenge. I think since it’s March I will give it a try. Making it only one day in advance and leaving it in the oven to keep away from humidity might work. Also I would like to add a lightened up pastry cream just to add a little something under the whipped cream.
Since the dessert is assembled right before serving do you think this would work? Thank you in advance for your opinion.
Pam
That sounds wonderful Pam! It should work just fine! N xx
I forgot to add that a great way to transport the meringue pieces is to get the cardboard trays from your local grocer or supermarket that they use for transporting peaches. Your meringue pieces need to be slightly less than 40 cm and you can fit 4 pieces per tray. They boxes are light weight and stack easily for trouble free transport. Cathy
I LOVE THAT TIP!!!
Well I finally took a dive in to the deep end and made a whopping 2 metre tart for a friend’s birthday. It was a huge success and no matter how imperfect all my pieces were it looked fabulous when it was decorated. Everyone was fascinated with the construction process. Apart from fruit I also topped it with some edible flowers, Rose Pashmak (Iranian Fairy Floss) and gold leaf which beautifully flutters away with the slightest movement of air. Thanks for a great set of instructions and a well tested recipe. With your help I have finally managed to beat an old nemesis. Cathy
WHOOOOOT! I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit. You’re a STAR!!! N x
Dear Nagi, I was on dessert duty for our Christmas Eve meal and couldn’t go past trying your Never Ending Meringue Tart. It was surprising easy to prepare and looked super impressive. There were compliments all round and the fact that most people had a 2nd serving and some 3rd’s said it all. I now have family on the other side of the globe following your recipetineats website. Thank you for all your beautiful recipes!
So pleased to hear that Angela! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Made this for a Boxing Day party, to seriously rave reviews. I felt a little guilty as it was quite easy! Topped with fresh berries from our garden – blueberries, boysenberries, and raspberries. Delicious! I have an amusing photo of my husband on mile-long-pav transport duties.
A question – my local Woolies now has egg whites in a carton, which I used for this recipe. They seemed to work okay, but I get the feeling they don’t get quite as stiff as fresh egg whites. Yes? Also used them in a pavlova (the ultimate test?), which was no worse than my usual pav.
Thanks for the great recipe!
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!! 😂 Yup the egg whites will be fine, I’ve used it for Pav before and didn’t notice a difference. Especially works well because I like to measure my whites! 🙂 N x
I’ve made this for Christmas lunch, not as pretty as yours but hope it will taste good- I needed to mix up another half batch to complete mine, probably made it too thick. Which might also be why I thought it needed to cook a little longer. I did get a bit of sticky clear weeping , not sure what to do to fix that in future but it will make getting the baking paper off without breaking it interesting. I live in a North Qld so maybe the heat and humidity is my problem? Thoughts?
Hi Michelle! Unfortunately yes, that clear weepy problem is due to the humidity, I have seen it with pavs too 🙂 And yes, extreme humidity would also affect how much the meringue fluffs up, I’m sorry to hear you had to make an extra half batch. But it will taste AMAZING! You can’t go wrong with this! Also, my tart shell certainly didn’t look pretty, my blobs were sticking out everywhere, and had meringue smears 🙂 It’s all good, once decorated, no one will notice! N x
Hi Nagi,
Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!
I have a problem 🤔 I only had enough meringue mixture to make two rectangle cases.. I must have done them WAY too thick…?! Are they meant to be really thin..?
Hi Angela, sorry to hear that! 180ml egg whites / 5 – 6 eggs should definitely make 2. Did you use a 11mm tip? Using that, my base is about 1/2 cm thick pre cooking and 7 mm post cooking. So the base is meant to be quite thin. I tried to do size perspective in the video when I shoed the spreading of the meringue from the side. Thank you for the question though, I will update the recipe with measurements for the base thickness! N x
This looks amazing!!
Definitely plan on making this for Xmas! I have a silly question.. I notice the meringue doesn’t have cornflour, vanilla essence or vinegar.. does a meringue not need this? Or is that just for a traditional pav? I was thinking maybe they break the flavour of the egginess if that makes sense x
Hi Ana-Maria! That is a great question 🙂 Pavs need those extra ingredients for stability (because they are taller and more fragile) and to create that marshmallow inside. You could add vanilla to the meringue but I don’t for this tart shell because it’s so thin. I would if I made traditional meringues. Hope that helps! N xx
I made your Pavlova a few months back and it was delicious! It is tricky and it was intimidating but all in all, everyone loved it (my son got a kick out of not disturbing the oven for hours..even to take a peek)
This looks easier and equally as good. I am definitely going to make this! (I imagine the taste is pretty much the same?)
*I am a huge fan of your blog and recipes. I even file the ‘keepers’ on my computer under your name.
Terrific to hear Tammy!! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️ PS A folder under my name? 😂 LOVE IT!!!