• 2 egg whites
• 4½ ozs/1 cup approx. icing sugar

Filling

• 225 g/8 ozs/1 cup strawberries
• 225 g/8 ozs/1 cup whipped cream

Garnish

• fresh mint or lemon balm leaves

Cover a baking sheet with silicone paper (otherwise grease and flour the sheet very carefully). Draw out 4 × 9 cm/3½ inch circles on the paper or mark them with the tip of a knife on the flour.

Put the egg whites and all the icing sugar into a spotlessly clean bowl and whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks. This can take 8–10 minutes in an electric mixer. Alternatively you can whisk it by hand but it takes quite a long time, so if you have even a hand-held mixer it will speed up matters a lot.

Put the meringue mixture into a piping bag with a number 5 rosette nozzle. Pipe a few blobs onto each circle and spread thinly with a palette knife. The meringue should not be more than ½ cm/¼ inch thick. Then carefully pipe a wall of meringue rosettes around the edge of each circle.

Bake in a low oven 150°C/300°F/regulo 2 for 45 minutes or until the meringue nests will lift easily off the paper. Turn off the oven and allow them to cool in the oven.