Meringue and Little ‘Lato Gelato Sandwiches
According to Outstanding Food Editor, Kathy Paterson, thinly baked meringue, cut into pieces or broken into shards and filled with a plethora of different fillings seemed to be the dessert of the moment. “On a recent ‘eating’ trip to Sydney. So, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and made one myself. Once you have cooked the meringue it’s really a matter of assembly. The lemon curd is not a must, but does add a wonderfully intense citrus note to the sandwich, along with the raspberry or strawberry sauce. And of course, there’s that drizzle with the sauce. For the perfect gelato slice–the day before, scoop out the gelato into a baking paper lined shallow container suitable for the freezer. Smooth out into a rectangular shape, one that you can cut into slices to fit between the meringue pieces. Wrap well and freeze until ready to use.”
Ingredients
4 egg whites, at room temperature
a pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
1 tub Little ‘Lato Gelato Sour Cream, Lemon & Berries
raspberry powder for sprinkling
Extras (all optional)
raspberry or strawberry sauce
edible flowers to decorate
lemon curd (see recipe under Celebration Cake), or use Kitchen Window, Central Otago Lemon Curd
Method
Heat the oven to 100°C. Line 2 large shallow oven trays with baking paper. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whisk until the meringue is glossy and stiff. Once or twice, scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure you have incorporated all the sugar. Divide the meringue in half and put each half on the prepared trays. Smooth the meringue out thinly and as evenly as possible.
Put in the oven and bake for 1 ½ hours. Remove from the oven and cool before carefully cutting into rectangular pieces. I used a pink wafer biscuits a template here, but you could make a template using thin cardboard or use your eye if you’re good at straight lines. To assemble; puta meringue piece on a plate. Scoop on gelato and if using, drizzle with a little raspberry or strawberry sauce. Top with another meringue piece and sprinkle with raspberry powder. Decorate with an edible flower and small spoonful of lemon curd, again if using.
Tips
Each tray of meringue cuts into about 16 pieces with a few little bits, giving you 8 sandwiches. If you want to be generous with the gelato you will probably need a couple of tubs.
Keep leftover meringue in an airtight container.
Leftover meringue can be crushed and made into Eton Mess or simply sprinkled over fruit, gelato, ice cream or whipped cream.
I love to make meringue ice cream. Crush a few meringue pieces of 300ml cream that you have whipped, flavour with vanilla extract and freeze in a suitable freezer container
Change up the flavour
If you’re feeling adventurous you can swap and add flavours for new taste sensations!
Little ‘Lato Raspberry Lamington and dust with raspberry powder
Little ‘Lato Yoghurt & Lemon Curd and dust with raspberry powder
Little ‘Lato Pistachio and dust with raspberry powder or plum powder
Little ‘Lato Vanilla and dust with strawberry powder and serve with fresh strawberries
Little ‘Lato Roasted Hazelnut and dust with dark cocoa powder or chocolate shavings
Little ‘Lato Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate and dust with dark cocoa powder
Little ‘Lato Orange & Mascarpone and dust with dark cocoa powder and serve with orange curd