Meringue desserts including baked Alaska, bruttiboni, dacquoise, Esterházy torte, Eton mess, floating island, key lime pie, Kyiv cake, lemon meringue pie, macarons, merveilleux, pavlova, Queen of Puddings, sans rival, silvana, Spanische Windtorte, and Zuger Kirschtorte. In some recipes, the meringue may be cooked at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, resulting in a soft meringue with slightly browned peaks on top. Another dish is "meringue de angel", which consists of shortbread biscuits layered with meringue and lemon curd, topped off with drizzled lemon glaze. Variations include assorted fruits such as raspberries, peaches, mangoes, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, pineapple,
Meringue papayas, honeydew, oranges, and cantaloupe. Meringue may be used for embellishment. It can be formed into whimsical shapes, such as mushrooms, or piped into a crisp basket that is baked and filled with cake, fruit, or flowers. Meringue is not a stable structure and has a short shelf life of about two weeks if stored properly. Meringue is considered a hygroscopic food, which means it absorbs water from the air. The high sugar concentration in the meringue absorbs moisture from the air and will cause the meringue to become soft and chewy. The more water that is absorbed, the heavier