Lemon Verbena Meringue with Blueberry Butterfly Blue Pea Cream
Photos by Carolina Korman
This is a super dreamy summer dessert, that only requires you to turn your oven on low. It is light, sweet, crunchy, and gluten-free. The meringue base can be made with any flavor and filled with endless possibilities. Lemon verbena is one of my favorite herbs I have known since my childhood in South America. I add Lemon Verbena Vinegar from TART to get its flavor into the meringue. Blueberry Jam folded into whipped cream is refreshing and made blue by the addition of Butterfly Blue Pea Powder. I love using botanicals for natural color, flavor and texture. Feel free to omit this, however, and you will have a lovely purple cream. All beautiful! The fresh passionfruit pulp poured on top cuts through the sweetness of the dessert with its acidity. This cake can be stacked to impress or made small for an individual indulgence. A very romantic treat for any summer’s day.
Makes three 8” meringues or 12 individual meringues
Ingredients
1 cup (230g) egg whites
1 cup (205g) cane sugar
2 cups (265g) powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¼ Teaspoon kosher sea salt
2 Teaspoon Lemon Verbena Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Bean Paste
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
½ cup blueberry jam
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
½ Teaspoon kosher sea salt
Passion Fruit
Roses
Directions
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your egg whites and whip on medium with the whisk attachment till all the egg white is frothy with small bubbles. In a separate small bowl, add the cane sugar and cornstarch and whisk to combine. Raise the speed to high, continue whipping as you rain in the sugar mixture slowly. Next add in the powdered sugar in a steady slow dusting. Meringue should triple in volume and become very white. Add salt, vinegars and vanilla bean past whipping to combine.
Place a sheet of parchment on a sheet pan. Scoop out individual meringues or disks. Once you scoop either make sure to use the back of a spoon to create a divet in the center to hold your cream. Bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes or until you can lift the meringue and peel back the parchment paper without the meringue breaking. Cool meringues.
Make your cream by whipping heavy whipping cream, salt and butterfly blue pea powder together in a stand mixer with a whisk or with a handheld mixer. Whip till it holds medium peaks. Top each meringue with a generous amount of cream, spill fresh passionfruit pulp on top, add some rose petals and enjoy!
