I say Valentine’s day would be all the reason you’ll need to have dessert for breakfast. With a little modification by reducing the amount of (or omitting it and substituting it entirely) cream per serving and substituting it with low-fat frozen yogurt, having this to start the day wouldn’t seem that far-fetched. Store-bought meringues are perfectly fine to use in this, although you can always make your own the day before, should you wish to. As for me I used the sub-par shells that I salvaged from the macaron post - I figured I might as well try to find a way to use them.

ETON MESS:

[ 6-8 small store-bought meringues (I used the broken macaron shells from the previous post) + 1/2 cup double cream + 2 tablespoons caster sugar + 9oz strawberries, sliced in half + 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar + 1 cup vanilla low-fat Greek yogurt, frozen ]

Whip the double cream with 1 tablespoon of the sugar until soft peaks are formed.

In a bowl, place the strawberries the remaining sugar and the balsamic vinegar together and mash with a fork. 

Place the mixture along with the whipped cream in the fridge till you want to serve.

When ready to serve, break the meringue into pieces and fold into the whipped cream. 

Then mix half of the mashed strawberries with the meringue-cream mixture and fold.

To serve, get out your glass or bowl and put in a scoop of frozen yogurt.

Spoon on some of the leftover mashed strawberries and then top with the cream mixture.

Garnish with strawberries and mint leaves.

Enjoy!

Estimated Nutritional Information:

Serves 2-3

Per Serving:

Total Calories: 370kcals

Carbohydrate: 20g

Fat: 29g (18g saturated)

Protein: 11.9g

Cholesterol: 18mg

So I said I’d get back on posting when my exams are done. As of now,barring any need for remedials, I’m actually free and waiting for the exam results to come out. So to get back on the good graces of my followers, I’m posting up a recipe of a snatzy little dessert that’s darn easy to make and looks impressive to boot. You can make this as individual portions too, but I couldn’t be bothered so I’ve made a big one. I also made this to celebrate my passing off all the 11 stations of my OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam). Alot of ice cream and meringue is never bad when you’re celebrating ;)

Feel free to use any of your favourite flavours of ice cream. You can make this with as little or as many layers as you like.

Baked Alaska:

[Brownie mix or store-bought brownie or sponge cake + ice cream of your favourite flavours]

- Cook the brownie as directed. Set aside to cool

- Take a round shaped container (I’m using my loverrrly coffee mug here) and line it with cling film, leaving tags on the outside.

Take your first flavour of ice cream. I’m using strawberry flavoured one here.

Fill half of the mug with it. Then put the mug into the freezer. Leave for 10 mins

Take your second flavour of ice cream (I’m using tiramisu fudge as my second one).

Fill the cup/container almost to the brim.

Then get your brownie or sponge cake, and cut a circle to fit the cup/container. Put it on top. Freeze overnight.

The next day, put the cup/container briefly in warm water to loosen the ice cream. Pull the tags to get the Alaska out. Invert it onto a plate or a baking tray. Return to freezer while you prepare the meringue.

**OPTIONAL: If you want, you can cover the Alaska with leftover brownies. This will make baking easier because the meringue will have a firm surface to stand on rather than some slippery, melting ice cream.

Meringue:

[ 4 egg whites + 1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup water ]

Take a pan and cook the sugar and water until all the water has dissolved. Then reduce the syrup. This will take around 4-5 minutes. Set the syrup aside to cool.

Take your eggs and separate the yolks from the whites and put into a bowl. Turn on your mixer to medium and whisk the eggs until soft, foamy peaks form.

Then drizzle the syrup and whisk at high speed. Keep whisking until stiff peaks form. Don’t over whisk!

Cover the entire Alaska with meringue to make a complete seal. Return to freezer.

To Bake:

You can either use a blow torch or the good ol’ oven. For oven users, pre-heat your oven for 10 mins at 180 degrees celsius. Then stick your Alaska in it for about 5 minutes, just long enough to brown the meringue.

Take it out of the oven, and either serve immediately or stick it back in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Image taken from here

So tomorrow I’m gonna take a whack at making Swiss Meringue Buttercream as part of a recipe I have planned. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? I’m guessing it’ll probably taste like a big bowl of marshmallow creme.

Anyways, since I don’t own an electric mixer (don’t ask why, just don’t), I’m going to make it using my buff guns. When I was whining about this my ever so witty sister said:

“You think those chefs used electric mixer back then?”

She makes a good point. But then again, those chefs were men. And French.

Wish me luck?