This dessert is so rich that it should belong to a category of its own: Sinful.
It’s also so unique and refined that it’s hard to define.
Italians call it a “semifreddo”, which literally means “half-cold”.
While the whipped cream will freeze, the meringue will remain crunchy, making it easy to cut into portions.
The beauty of it is that you can make it in advance and freeze for a few days, or simply freeze it for 3-4 hours and enjoy it on the same day.
Ingredients: A V Gf
(Serves 8)
- 6 egg whites
- 180 g. superfine sugar
- 180 g. powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of cream of tartar
- 400 g. heavy whipping cream
- 60 g. powdered sugar
Preheat the oven at 240 F.
Bring the eggs at room temperature. In the meantime, cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw on it two circles of the same internal circumference of your spring pan.
Separate the whites from the yolks making sure there is no trace of yolk in the whites. Add the cream of tartar to the whites and start beating – either with a standing mixer or with a hand beater – gradually incrementing the speed.
When you reach high speed, start adding the superfine sugar, a little at a time. When the egg whites have become very stiff, start adding the powdered sugar, a little at a time.
Put the meringue mix into a pastry bag and make two discs by filling in the circles on the parchment paper, starting from the center and without leaving any gaps.
The meringue circles should be 3/4 to 1-inch high.
Use the remaining meringue mix in the pastry bag to make small meringues that you will use later to decorate your cake.
Lower the oven temperature to 200 F and bake for 2 hours, checking regularly that your meringues doesn’t start to brown. Meringues should not cook but simply dry out.
For the last 30 minutes of baking, keep the oven door slightly open using a ball of aluminum foil.
Turn off the oven, open the door completely and let the meringue cool down, preferably overnight.
When you are ready to assemble the cake, whip the cream, adding the powdered sugar a little at a time.
Put the first disc of meringue on the bottom of a spring pan and cover it with 1/3 of the whipped cream. Cover with the second disc of meringue, another 1/3 of whipped cream, and set aside the remaining cream. Freeze for 3 – 4 hours.
30 to 40 minutes before serving the meringata, remove it from the spring pan, cover its surface and sides with the remaining whipped cream, crush the extra meringues, and use them to decorate your dessert.