Lavender Floral Meringues

Part of the I love Lavender Series.....


Ingredients:

For the meringues (make the day before)

• 175g/6oz lavender caster sugar
• 3 large egg whites

For the cream and fruit mixture

• 250g/9oz blueberries or 250g/7oz blackcurrants or 750g/1lb10oz fresh, ripe strawberries
• 2 tbsp Kirsch
• a few lavender flowers or a few sprigs of lavender
• a few sprigs spearmint (optional)
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
• 400ml/¾pt fresh cream, for whipping
• 6 meringues or meringue shells

Directions:

• For the meringue, place the egg whites in a very clean bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks that slightly tip over when you lift the whisk.
• Add the caster sugar, about a tbsp at a time, and continue to whisk until each tbsp of sugar has been thoroughly whisked in.
• Using two dessertspoons, fill one with meringue mix and use the other to scoop the mixture out onto a lined baking tray in neat rows.
• Place the baking tray in the oven on the centre shelf, heated at 140C/275F/Gas 1, and cook for 1 hour.
• Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven to dry out overnight, or until the oven is completely cold.
• For the cream and fruit mixture, wash and dry the fruit. Set aside some perfect specimens for decoration.
• Sprinkle the chosen fruit with the liqueur, dust with icing sugar and refrigerate for an hour or two. Whip the cream and chill.
• Roughly crush the meringue.
• When you are ready to serve, gently toss the cream, meringue and fruit and pile into a glass bowl. Scatter the whole fruit on top, decorate with lavender and mint and serve. Alternatively freeze the meringues, fruit and cream mixture.
  

Note:
It is important to serve the desert as quickly as possible after you have taken it from the freezer. If you leave it a room temperature for too long it will go soggy.

Floral sugar can be used in any culinary recipe instead of regular sugar. The best floral sugars are made from flowers with a sweet, definite scent such as lavender, rose, violets, pinks, mint and citrus flowers. Meringues made with floral sugar are quite something else.

Lavender Sugar

Great for Meringues

As you know, I have an abudance of Lavender in my garden and have been busy making all sorts from this beautiful fragrant flower. I recently came across lavendar infused meringues and two different methods for making them.

First methid, infuse the sugar with lavender and make the meringues in the normal way; the second is to include the flowers directly in the meringues. Both delicious!

So, Lavender Infused Sugar


Ingredients:

• 350g/¾lb golden granulated or golden caster sugar
• 8-16tbsp chopped and dry flower petals
  

Directions:

• For the floral sugar, put the sugar and chopped flowers into a food processor or liquidiser and process well; use a Pestel and Morter if you want to work those biceps.
• Put the floral sugar into an airtight glass jar, cover well and let it stand for a week.
• After a week sift the sugar and flowers through a medium sieve and put into an airtight container until you are ready to use.

What could be easier. Follow on to make the meringues....

Lavender Oil / Homemde Goodness

I have a lot of Lavender in my garden.... ohh what to do with it. Ice-cream? Definetly. Body Oil... let's try it.

Lavender Oil Recipe: From All4NaturalHealth

• This can be prepared by filling a jar with lavender stems with leaves and flowers that have been lightly crushed.
• The high quality almond or olive oil should be poured on top thereafter and this mixture should be allowed to steep for about a month.
• The jar should be gently shaken daily to ensure that the lavender and oil mix well.
• After about a month, the mixture needs to be strained through a strainer and the oil needs to be transferred to a clean covered jar.

Using such a method to make lavender oil, within the confines of one’s home, requires no elaborate distilling process and the oil is authentic in its composition; it also serves as massage oil with soothing and rejuvenating properties.

Lavender Ice-Cream

To make this unusual lavender ice cream dessert, store bought culinary dried lavender or freshly picked lavender can be used. Using an ice cream machine does make the process easier, but there is no reason not to make fabulous homemade ice cream in the freezer compartment.

3 Ingredient Lavender Ice Cream Recipe
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 6ozs honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh lavender flowers or 1 level teaspoon dried culinary lavender
• ¾ pint double cream

Directions:

• Place the honey into a heavy bottomed saucepan, over a low heat.
• Crush the lavender flowers with a spoon, and add them to the honey.
• Stir in the cream and mix gently.
• If you have an ice cream machine, transfer the mixture and follow the manufacturer’s usual directions until frozen.
• If you don’t have an ice cream machine, whisk the mixture until it becomes thick. Put it in a shallow container suitable for freezing, cover, and place in the freezer. After half an hour, take it out. It should have started freezing from the outside edges, but not be fully frozen in the middle. Whisk to break down the ice crystals and make it smooth. Put it back in the freezer and repeat after another half an hour. You may need to do this a total of three or four times until the ice- cream is frozen through and smooth, with lavender speckles.

Ice Cream Serving Tips:
Move the ice cream from the freezer to the fridge about half an hour before serving, and it will be the perfect texture.
Serve small quantities of lavender ice cream in a shallow wineglass or dish, with plain shortbread,and garnish with a fresh sprig of lavender, for a dessert with a difference!
To Store the Lavender Ice Cream
Put lavender ice cream into a suitable container with about half an inch spare at the top to allow the mixture to expand.
Lay a sheet of clingfilm against the surface of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Store it in the coldest part of the freezer.
Note: Using Home Grown Lavender
It’s best to pick the flowers in the morning after the dew has dried. The lavender flowers will be at their best and the scent will be wonderful. You can use any of the varieties, but English Lavender is particularly good because of its sweeter scent.