Skip to content

Vegan Meringue Tower

A vegan twist on a classic dessert. A spectacular tower of vegan meringue & whipped coconut cream.

Prep time: 60 minutes | Cooking time: 120 minutes

British | Vegan | Dessert

Ingredients  

For the meringue:

  • 140g Aquafaba – the water strained from one can of Chickpeas  
  • 280g Caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Organic apple cider vinegar
  • 25g Cornflour

For the filling:

  • 1 x 200ml Can coconut milk
  • 30g Cornflour
  • 50g Caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Madagascan vanilla extract
  • To Decorate:
  • Berries
  • 10g Fresh mint

Method

  1. For the meringue Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 4. Cut a sheet of baking parchment to fit 2 large baking trays. Draw 4 circles onto the parchment descending in size, 18cm diameter, 15cm, 12cm and 9cm, leaving plenty of space between the circles for the meringue to expand. Turn the paper over so the ink is underneath.
  2. Spread the caster sugar onto the prepared tray in a thin, even layer. Put the sugar in the oven to heat for 10 minutes.
  3. While the sugar is warming, mix the cornflour with a couple of spoonfuls of aquafaba to make a smooth paste –set this aside for later. Pour the remaining aquafaba and 1 teaspoon of the apple cider vinegar into the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment.
  4. Start whisking the aquafaba and vinegar, gradually turning up the speed of the mixer. Whisk on high for 5 minutes until doubled in size.
  5. When the aquafaba is thick and frothy, add the cornflour mix and beat for a minute or 2 to incorporate.
  6. Remove the sugar from the oven and, keeping the mixer running on high, start adding the warm sugar slowly, 1 dessert spoon at a time.
  7. When all the sugar is added, keep the mixer running on high and continue beating for a further 5-10 minutes, until the meringue has cooled and the sugar has dissolved.
  8. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag with a 15mm round piping nozzle, or snip half an inch off the end of the bag, and pipe onto the prepared tray. Simple shapes work best here – the meringue expands in the oven and loses some definition.
  9. Reduce the oven temperature to 130°C/Gas Mark 2. Put the meringues in the oven and bake for 90 minutes.
  10. Once the bake time is up, turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool down completely in the residual heat of the oven to minimise cracking and sinking.

To make the coconut pastry cream:

  1. Mix the cornflour with a couple of spoonfuls of coconut milk to form a paste and place all the pastry cream ingredients into a saucepan. Bring the mix to the boil, stirring continuously until the mix has thickened. Allow to cool completely and keep chilled until ready to use.

To assemble:

  1. The meringue is best assembled just before serving.
  2. Place the largest meringue onto a plate, spoon the coconut pastry over the meringue and scatter over some fresh berries. Repeat for each layer until the meringue is stacked. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.