Friends joined us for lunch on New
Year’s day and, as this time of year has the best selection of tropical fruit
and berries, our dessert was a classic. It’s not difficult to make at all,
remember to take your eggs out of the fridge a few hours before. Lynne made the
meringue the day before and had a challenge. Our gas oven is playing up and
would not light. The temperature in the oven is impossible to control and so
she risked cooking this in our combination oven where you can set the
temperature to the desired 110°C degrees and cook in the Convection mode – she
just had to use a lined Pyrex or porcelain dish instead of anything metal. It
worked well
Remember, when whipping egg whites,
make sure the bowl is completely dry and clean. And you must not have any yolk
in the whites, or it will not whip up
6 egg whites at room temperature - 1
pinch of salt - 1½ cups plus 2 tbsp white caster sugar - ½ Tbsp lemon juice - 2
tspns real vanilla extract - 2 tsp corn flour - 1½ cups chilled whipped cream -
4 to 5 cups fresh fruit (such as mango, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries,
raspberries, litchi, banana, granadilla)
Preheat oven to 110°C with the rack
in the centre of the oven. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper
Using a stand mixer or an electric
whisk, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt on high speed
for 1 minute until soft peaks form
With mixer on, very gradually add the sugar
and beat for 10 minutes on high speed, or until stiff peaks form. The mixture
should be smooth and glossy
Using a large metal spoon, gently
fold in lemon juice and vanilla extract, then the cornflour until well blended.
Pipe or spoon the meringue onto the
greaseproof paper. Using a spoon, make an indent in the centre to allow room
for cream. Bake for 75 minutes, then turn oven off and leave meringue in oven
for another 30 minutes without opening the door. The outside will be dry, crisp
and pale (almost white) and the inside should be marshmallow-soft
Transfer the meringue, on the
greaseproof paper, onto a wire rack and leave to cool to room temperature
Beat cream until thick and
spreadable. You can add 2 tbsp of sugar if you like but we prefer it without as
the meringue is quite sweet on its own
Once cool, and you are ready to
serve put the meringue on a pretty plate and top it with the whipped cream and
fruit and serve
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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2019
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