Monday, June 8, 2009

Strawberry Vacherin for Strawberry Feast



As I was going to Strawberry Fair,
Singing, singing buttercups and daisies ...
English Traditional


Don't you love strawberries? They are a bright, cheerful red with pretty green hats, and inevitably remind me of summer (even if they can now be purchased all year round thanks to advanced horticultural practices).

My blogging friend Happy Cook at My Kitchen Treasures is hosting an event dedicated to strawberries called Strawberry Feast. What could be lovelier or more delicious than a collection of dishes featuring strawberries as a key ingredient?

It is definitely winter here, but all the more reason to celebrate the cheering bright red strawberry.

For my contribution, I have chosen to make Strawberry Vacherin from Bill Granger's Feed Me Now! (Harper Collins, 2009, p221). These are little strawberry flavoured meringues, with a crispy, fragile shell and a soft, marshmallow like centre. As the vacherin bakes, the strawberry juices ooze out, leaving a soft pink puddle around each one.

If you would like to make your own strawberry vacherin, you will need:

4-5 ripe strawberries
250g white sugar
4 egg whites
pinch of salt


Preheat your oven to 120 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.

Crush the strawberries in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sugar, then set aside.

Beat the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage, then add the remaining sugar, beating continuously, until the mixture becomes shiny and thick ("stiff peak" stage). Stir through the crushed strawberries.

Arrange the meringue mixture in 8 equal sized mounds on the baking tray, leaving some room to spread between them. Bake the meringues in the pre-heated oven for 1 1/4 hours, then remove from the oven and allow them to cool before serving.




These are great served with icecream and extra fresh strawberries. Because they are sweet and marshmallowy, kids are sure to love them, and while they are not exactly light on sugar, they are low in fat.

You have until June 25 to send in your entry for Happy Cook's Strawberry Feast.



8 comments:

Cakelaw said...

Hi Mary, I liked the simplicity of these - I have never thought to add fruit to meringue batter before.

Finla said...

Wow i can imagine bitting into them. The way you described them made me want to make them especiall when you said about the strawberry juice oozing out :-)
Thankyou so much for making and sending this for my event, even though it is not season there.

Leslie said...

These look like an easy, delicious dessert! I always seem to have leftover egg whites from baking and this would be a great way to use them.

foodcreate said...

This dessert is a fabulous! it makes a luxurious but, at the same time refreshing treat.

Thanks for stoping by foodcreate and leaving a lovely comment.

http://foodcreate.com

The Blonde Duck said...

If only Ben wasn't allergic!

Sara said...

For some reason I have trouble with meringues - yours look perfect!

Ivy said...

I made these last week after making Linzertorte with the leftover egg whites but without the strawberries. In Greek these are called mpezedes and didn't even know about the English equivalent. I regret I did not add the strawberries.

Cakelaw said...

Thanks for hosting Happy Cook - a beautiful event idea.

LOL Leslie - you have hit on one of my inspirations for this choice of dessert. I have so many egg whites in the freezer from TWD, I am looking forward to making the dacquoise later in the month.

Thanks Foodcreate.

Oh no Duckie! No chocolate or strawberries at the Pond! But lots of love.

Thanks Sara. Meringues are on the few things that usually behave for me.

Hi Ivy, I didn't know that there was a Greek version! I think "vacherin" is French - we call them meringues.