Tag: Italian meringue

Recipe: rhubarb meringue pie

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

 

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We have a good thing going in my family. We all like mayonnaise and bearnaise sauce A LOT so we use a lot of egg yolks. Not wanting to waste food the egg whites go into little containers in the fridge (they keep for weeks!). But conveniently my dad loves everything meringue-y so we get to use up the egg whites quite frequently too.

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The whole little family (there’s only three of us; mother, father and me) loved this rhubarb meringue pie. It still has the tang of a lemon meringue pie but is slightly less heavy as no butter or egg yolk in the rhubarb filling.

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The pie on the pictures had approx 500 g rhubarb in the filling which was fine taste wise but looked a little silly with all that meringue, so in the recipe below I’ve adjusted the recipe to 800 g rhubarb. It cooks down a lot in the oven, so I promise it’s not too much.

Also, when making the meringue, please note that it needs a lot of beating with an electric whisk and that it’s important the syrup boils and reaches (or almost reaches) 118C.

Rhubarb meringue pie, serves 8

Pastry:

180 g plain flour

100 g softened butter

2 1/2 tbsp cream or water

Rhubarb filling:

800 g frozen rhubarb pieces

3 tbsp potato flour (starch)

4-5 tbsp caster sugar

 

Italian meringue:

4 egg whites

120 g caster sugar

Syrup:

120 g caster sugar

100 ml water

Mix all the ingredients to the dough in a bowl or using a food processor. Press into a Ø 20 cm pie dish. Bake in a low oven using baking beads at 180C, for approx 10-15 minutes or until golden and baked through. Leave to cool. 

Place the defrosted rhubarb pieces in an ovenproof dish and scatter with potato flour and sugar. If using fresh rhubarb I would start off by using less potato flour adding more if needed.  Place in a 200 C oven for approx 20 minuter. The mixture should be bubbling, almost caramelised and thickened. Leave to cool. 

Make the meringue: Add egg whites and sugar to a clean bowl and beat for 10 minutes with an electric whisk. Meanwhile make the syrup by adding water and sugar to a saucepan and bring to the boil (don’t stir). Remove when 118C (the boiling point for sugar). Add the hot syrup to the meringue and beat for a further 15 minutes, until you have a thick and glossy meringue. 

Assemble: Add the rhubarb mixture to the pie crust once both are cool. Spread the meringue on top and burn the edges with a brulee torch. Serve with lightly whipped cream. 

Lemon meringue pie

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

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I love a good lemon meringue pie. With a thin and crispy pie crust, a thick and sharp lemon fillinf and a light and fluffy meringue. I’m not so keen on the baked meringue; I want the fluffy Italian kind.

My mother is probably slightly to blame for my obsession as I have sampled plenty of lemon meringue pies with her, both in cafés and at home. And it’s also her trusted recipe I use for the filling and the crust. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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Lemon meringue pie, serves 8

Pastry:

180 g plain flour

100 g softened butter

2 1/2 tbsp cream or water

Lemon filling:

350 ml water

240 g caster sugar

6 tbsp corn flour

2 lemons (zest and juice)

3 egg yolks

2 tbsp butter

Italian meringue:

4 egg whites

120 g caster sugar

Syrup:

120 g caster sugar

100 ml water

Mix all the ingredients to the dough in a bowl or using a food processor. Press into a Ø 20 cm springform. Bake in a low oven at 180C, for approx 10-15 minutes or until golden and baked through. Leave to cool. 

Add all the ingredients for the filling, apart from the butter, in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and stir continuously until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and mix in the butter. Leave to cool completely. 

Make the meringue: Add egg whites and sugar to a clean bowl and beat for 10 minutes with an electric whisk. Meanwhile make the syrup by adding water and sugar to a saucepan and bring to the boil (don’t stir). Remove when 118C (the boiling point for sugar). Add the hot syrup to the meringue and beat for a further 15 minutes, until you have a thick and glossy meringue. 

Assemble: Remove the crust from the tin. Fill with the lemon filling, spreading it evenly. Spread the meringue on top and burn the edges with a brulee torch. Serve with lightly whipped cream. 

 

 

Baked Alaska with oat crisps, raspberries and passion fruit

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Two New Year’s Eves in a row I’ve made the same fabulous dessert and even though i love it, it’s fun to change things up a little, so this New Year’s Eve I decided to make a Baked Alaska. The base is oat crisps, as well as the decoration and the centre is homemade vanilla ice cream topped with passion fruit and wrapped in Italian meringue. Raspberry coulis, fresh raspberries and half a passion fruit to serve. It was delicious and looked just as impressive as I had pictured in my head.

Baked Alaska with raspberries and passion fruit, serves 4

1 batch oat crisps 

1 batch vanilla ice cream 

Italian meringue:

4 egg whites

150 ml caster sugar

Syrup:

150 ml caster sugar

100 ml water

Raspberry coulis:

1 litre frozen raspberries 

a little sugar (to taste)

100 ml water

1 tbsp potato flour 

To decorate:

1 punnet fresh raspberries 

4 passion fruits

Make the oat crisps using the link above. These can be made a few day in advance, just store in an airtight container. Use a dessert spoon to measure the oat crisps for the base and half a teaspoon for the small decorative oat crisps. Still bake them for the same amount of time. 

Make the ice cream and divide between four ramekins lined with cling film, freeze until needed.  

Make the raspberry coulis: place all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, sieve to remove the kernels and leave to cool. Can also be made ahead of time. 

Montage:

Make the Italian meringue: Add the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and beat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the water and sugar for the syrup to the boil in a saucepan. Pour the (very) hot syrup into the meringue mixture and beat for another 15 minutes until you have a thick, glossy meringue.

Place a large oat crisp on each plate. Remove the ice cream from the ramekins and cling and place on top of the oat crisps. Scrape out the seeds from half a passion fruit on top of each ice cream block. Cover the whole lot (apart from the base) with the meringue using a spatula. Use a cream brulee torch to torch the meringue until golden brown. Decorate the plate with the raspberry coulis and fresh fruit. Top each dessert with a small oat crisp and maybe a sparkler. Serve immediately.

Cupcakes with meringue frosting

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I have to admit that although I am quite a good cook and baker, not everything turns out the way you want it to. I mean, it wasn’t this bad but when I attempted mango cupcakes the other day, they turned out moist and normal, it was just that they didn’t taste of mango. Hardly at all.

Looking back it feel like such a waste of a perfectly ripe and delicous mango and (almost) half a bottle of mango essence. I should have eaten the mango as it was or used it for icecream.

At least the meringue frosting turned out the way I hoped! I just made Italian meringue, using a boiling sugar syrup to stabilize the meringue. It also partly cook the egg whites so children and pregnant women can eat it too.

I simply piped the shiny meringue onto my non-mango cupcakes and then used a blow torch to caramelize the sugar a bit for effect. (And I admit, it is good fun to play with the blow torch!).

Italian meringue

Adapted and translated from Karin’s recipe.

4 egg whites
150 ml caster sugar

Syrup:
150 ml caster sugar
100 ml water

Beat the egg whites and sugar for 10 minutes until foamy. In the mean time add sugar and water to a pan and bring to the boil (118 C for sugar). Once ready pour the syrup into the egg whites and beat with an electric whisk for another 15 minutes. The meringue should be shiny and have stiff peaks.