Lemon filled Meringues

For the Meringue:

6 egg whites

1 1/2 C white sugar

Separate the eggs and save the yolks for the lemon curd.  Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the metal bowl of a stand mixer.  Place the bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until the egg whites are warm to the touch and all the sugar is dissolved.  Gently cooking the whites slightly with the sugar as it melts keeps the whites from being over beaten later and saves the need for cream of tartar.

Once the egg whites are warm, whip the mixture with the balloon whisk until it's smooth, glossy, and holds peaks

Scoop the meringue into a large zip top bag.  Snip a VERY tiny corner from the bag; you can always make it larger later.

Turn your oven to 175 degrees F and pipe oval shapes on a pan lined with parchment paper.  Trace the outline of the egg shape to slowly build up some walls.  If you build them too high, they'll collapse. Bake them for a couple hours, then turn off the oven and let them sit in oven overnight to dry out.

For the  Lemon Curd (can be done ahead of time)  

6 egg yolks

4 large lemons

1 C sugar

1 stick butter

Use a microplane grater to shave off just the zest of the lemon. The zest is where the spectacular lemon flavor and scent hides.  Mix the zest in the bowl of a food processor with the sugar.  Pulse it a few times to thoroughly mix them.  The resulting sugar should be pale yellow and slightly clumpy, Wisk the lemon sugar with the egg yolks in a metal bowl until the egg yolks become pale and smooth.  The mixture will become more liquid as you whisk. Roll the lemons on a hard surface under your palm.  This makes it easier to squeeze the juice out of them.  Cut them in half and squeeze them into a container; Strain juice through a sieve. Measure a half cup of this juice and whisk it into the yolk mixture.Place the metal bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until the temperature reaches 170 degrees F.  Once the lemon mixture sufficiently coats the back of a spoon, take the bowl off the heat. Cut the butter into pieces and whisk it in, a little at a time.  Once all the butter is incorporated, the lemon curd should've thickened more.  Press plastic wrap onto the surface to keep a skin from forming, or spoon it directly into a zip top bag, squeezing out the air bubbles, so you can pipe it later.  Store it in the fridge.

Whip the Cream

2 C heavy whipping cream

2 T powdered sugar

Whip the cream with the sugar until it almost forms stiff peaks.  Don't overwhip or you'll have butter and whey.  Taste the whipped cream to see if you like the sweetness level.  Remember that the meringues are very sweet..

Assemble just before serving

Spoon some whipped cream into a meringue.  Squeeze a dollop of lemon curd to resemble an egg yolk