Strawberry,lemonand
elderflowermeringue
SERVES8.HANDS-ONTIME 10 MIN,OVEN
TIME 2 HOURS 25-30 MIN, PLUS COOLING
Freshelderflowerand
strawberriesarea quintessential
companionship,butthere’sonly
a smallwindowoftimeinwhich
togettheseseasonaldelights
together.Elderflowers(ifyou’re
luckytohavesomeinyour
gardenornearby)willdisappear
longbeforethestrawberries,but
wheninbloomyoucanmake
a wonderful cordial.
MAKE
AHEAD
Storecookedandcooled
meringueinanairtight
container for up to 1 week.
- 400mldoublecream
- Gratedzestandjuice1 lemon
- 3 tbspelderflowercordial
- 300-400gripestrawberries,
hulled and sliced- 1 tbspunrefinedcastersugar
- A fewelderflowerheads,in
season, to decorate (optional)
FORTHEMERINGUE
- 4 mediumfree-rangeeggwhites
- 200gunrefinedcaster sugar
- Butter to grease
YOU’LLALSONEED...
- Electricmixer;largebakingsheet;
compostable baking paper
1 Heattheovento120°C/100°Cfan/
gas1.Tomakethemeringue,put
theeggwhitesina large,cleanbowl
andwhiskwithanelectricmixeruntil
theyformsoftpeaks(whenyoulift
thebeatersout,thepeaksflopover).
Withthemixerrunning,addlarge
spoonfulsofthesugar,oneata time,
beatingbetweeneachaddition,until
allthe200gsugarisincorporated.
Whiskfora further6-8minutes
untilthick,pale,smoothandglossy.
2 Lightlygreasea sheetofbaking
paper and lay it on the baking sheet.
Spoonthemeringueontothepaper
toforma largediscabout25cmwide
withslightlypeakededges– it
doesn’thavetobeperfect.Bakethe
meringuefor25-30minutes,then
reducetheheatto110°C/90°Cfan/
gas½andbakefor2 hoursmore
untilthemeringuehasformed
a crispshell.Removefromtheoven
andallowtocool(seeMakeAhead).
3 Whenreadytoserve,pourthe
creamintoa largebowl.Addhalf
thelemonzestandjuiceand2 tbsp
ofthecordial.Whiskuntilthecream
isthickenoughtoholdsoftpeaks.
4 Putthestrawberriesina bowlwith
theremaininglemonjuiceand
cordial.Gentlyturnthemtocoat.
Spoonthecreamontothemeringue,
topwiththestrawberriesand
sprinklewiththesugar,the
remaininglemonzestandsome
elderflowerblossoms,if youlike.
PERSERVING386kcals,27gfat
(16.7gsaturated),2.8gprotein,
34.8gcarbs(34.8gsugars),
0.1g salt, 1.4g fibre
what’s good now.