Hi Everyone!

For my last “favourites” edition of Wine Wednesday I have selected five of my favourite recipes involving meringue.  I must say that I am certainly drawn to recipes involving this versatile and scrumptious explosion of sweetness.  Whether it is a soft Italian meringue or a crunchy pavlova, you can’t go wrong.

So number one: Sweet Potato Meringue Pie

What a wonderful surprise this dessert was!  I use to love my Grandmas pumpkin pie so I’m attracted to recipes that may be a twist on that old fashioned flavour.  Sweet potato – so good for you and the flavour is wonderful mashed or baked so I was thinking to myself that topped with meringue may be a new experience. When you cut into it the meringue is soft and super high, in fact you can barely see the filling until you start eating it. Using the kitchen blow torch is almost an art form – I got a bit carried away with it but it looked great.  I was nervous that the MAV would be horrified that he was eating veg for dessert but he actually loved it.

Number two:  Bomb Alaska

The first thing I need to say here is don’t use lactose free ice-cream as I did because it doesn’t freeze as hard as normal ice-cream.  Nevertheless it was okay and of course I am lactose intolerant so had no choice if I was going to eat it.  And trust me I didn’t just make this so others could devour it.  So whilst a bit fiddly doing individual bombes, there is still so much you can do ahead like the ice-cream in the moulds, prepping the fruit filling and cutting out the cake.  Where you need an extra pair of hands is very, very quickly coating the upturned moulds with the meringue to go into the oven for 3 minutes.

Number three:  Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake

I was so excited to try this dessert because it had the most luscious picture of it in the book and also because it was an unusual combination of ingredients and textures.  It appealed to my creative side even though I was a little nervous about whether or not I could manage piping the meringue onto the cheesecake without it all falling off.  You have your standard cheesecake with a biscuit base topped with a cream cheese and mascarpone mixture.  This is baked (always prefer baked cheesecakes as they are lighter somehow).  After that it is topped with store bought lemon curd – too easy.  Blueberries are added and then meringue is piped around the outside of the cheese cake and on the top – get out your little blow torch and brown the meringue.   It’s one of those desserts that looks so much harder than it is so go impress your friends and family.  It is not easy to cut so I suggest you use baking paper on the bottom of the springform pan to lift it out.

Number four:  Mango Mess

Now for this incredibly difficult dessert.  Yes, I’m joking!  Meringue nests from Woolies again are just given a light crush up in your hand and combined with a cream/sour cream combo.  Add luscious mango and berries and you have a dessert which is beautiful to look at and delicious to taste.  What would also make this even better would be if you marinated the fruit in your favourite liqueur.   Mmmmmmm……….

And last but not least number five:  Chocolate Orange Meringue Gateau

I really enjoyed making this three part dessert.  The chocolate (no flour) cake can be made the day before as can the meringue.  Then work with the orange filling during the “day of” and assemble and refrigerate two hours before needed.  All went well until the meringue spread too much and my cake looked a lot like a mushroom.  I did draw a circle considerably smaller than the cake and carefully placed my meringue mixture within the boundaries but it got out of control.  It is a very crisp meringue and certainly a beautiful contrast of flavours.

I hope you have enjoyed by five favourite recipes involving meringue.  Next week we are back to our regular Wine Wednesdays and looking forward to a year of yummy dinners.  So till then….

From my table to yours with love x