MERINGUES

Prep the oven and baking tray

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Cut out a heart shape on a piece of card to draw around as a template (about 7x7cm in size). Draw 20 heart shapes onto parchment paper, roughly 1 inches apart. Place the parchment sheet drawn-side down onto a baking tray (you may need to use 2 trays).

Meringue mixture

• Mix egg whites and salt in an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy.

  Whisk in cream of tartar, then whisk on high speed for about a min.

  While on high speed, add sweetener gradually, one spoonful at a time.

  Whisk on high speed until the meringue mixture turns white and fluffy. Then fold in vanilla extract on medium speed.

  The meringue is ready when it's not gritty if rubbed between the thumb and index finger. Also, if a spoonful of the mixture doesn't fall off when tipped upside down,

Pipe the Meringue Mixture

• Transfer the meringue fluff into a piping bag with a plain circle tip. Secure the wide part - top end with a clip. Pipe dots on the corners of the baking tray where the parchment paper will sit and secure it.

  Pipe along the outlines of the heart shape first, keeping the tip upright. I start from the heart's top ‘v’ section, pipe along one side, and follow the line down to the bottom ‘v’ point, then repeat with the opposite side to meet the bottom ‘v.’

  Fill the heart centers by piping 3 dots in the center.

  Take a spatula and flatten the dots out to fill the gaps. Take a butter knife or spatula and refine the edges. Sliding the spatula upwards along the edge works better than sideways.

Bake the meringues

• Bake the meringues in the oven on the middle shelf for 45 mins. After 45 mins, switch the off, keeping the oven door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon and let them cool in the oven for 1 hour.

  When cooled, Carefully lift the meringues from the parchment paper and store them in an airtight container until you're ready to assemble.

RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE MOUSSE

• Blend cream cheese and raspberry purée until smooth using an electric mixer.

  Add powdered sweetener, stir to combine, then add vanilla extract.

  Fold in whipped cream and whisk on low speed until no whipped cream is visible.

  Transfer the mousse into a piping bag and keep it chilled in the fridge.

Assemble Meringue hearts with raspberry cheesecake mousse

• Turn half the hearts upside down and pipe the mousse over each heart, following the heart shape. Fill the center with crushed raspberries or mousse, add some whole raspberries, or halve them. Top with another meringue cookie.