Cheats Meringue Nests + Ice-cream, Chocolate, Raspberries & Pistachio Gravel

Cheats Meringue Nests with Ice-cream, Chocolate, Raspberries & Pistachio Gravel – everyone needs a ‘go to’ dessert when friends or family drop around unexpectedly, or that ‘just because’ moment, when you have had a less than desirable day and you want something both beautiful and special just for you!

Then this quick, easy, delicious and visually appealing dessert idea may be just what you need to  wow unexpected guests, or, like me, slink off to a softly lit corner of the house, put on your favourite tunes, and hole up with a glass of something soothing in the other hand and just ‘be’.

In a world that is sometimes stressful and ugly, you can still find beauty all around you. It just so happens that I found it in the form of a store-bought meringue nest, topped with some good quality vanilla ice-cream, rolled in some grated chocolate with the addition of a few chocolate curls, some sweet diced raspberries and a pistachio gravel, adorned with a cream swirl.

For a moment, there I felt like Nigella Lawson in one of her TV shows.  I’m sure you’ve seen at least one of the episodes I refer to, where she floats down the stair case in a sweeping black slinky dressing gown, whips up something magical and majestic in the blink of an eye and then scurries back off to bed to enjoy the delicious dish in all of its sinful beauty.

Well, in a far less graceful manner and without the slinky black nightie and dressing gown, that was me last night!

Unfortunately, however, once I had enjoyed my 30 minutes of ‘me’ time, I then came back to the crashing reality that the kitchen cleaning fairies were on strike and that I would again, have to pick up their slack!

In all seriousness, as much as I love to make things from scratch, it just isn’t feasible all of the time, as we all have commitments and life just gets in the way sometimes.  Since the introduction of social media, mobile phones and being able to be contacted 24/7, it appears we have all just gotten busier, but that doesn’t mean we should sacrifice on flavor, deliciousness and elegance and slap any ol’ thing together, does it?

I don’t believe so.  I believe that with a little effort, love and care you can still engage all the senses to make a meal truly special, whilst using a few store bought ingredients.

So, with this in mind, I’ve added an extra section to my site called Cheats/Hacks where, on those odd occasions, where life gets in the way, or unexpected guests pop around, or perhaps you just don’t want to cook something from scratch but you still have that craving to create something delicious and memorable then you can.  I hope that you enjoy these sections.  You will find them under each of the main headings ie Dinner – Cheats/Hacks etc.

Anyhow, I must go, perhaps make another one of these delights and slink back off to my said corner and enjoy the rest of my evening.  I hope you enjoy this Cheat/Hack as much as I am tonight!