Valentine’s Day

Hey all you lovelies, ATTENZIONE <3

One of the most wonderful days of the year is almost upon us. Valentines’s Day, San Valentino, Ystävänpäivä – Whatever you wish to call it. To me, the same way as it is known in Italy, it is the day of lovers. A day filled with love and tenderness, and not to mention some playful seduction and a dash of added passion… Grande Passione… which everyone needs in their day every here and there. I don’t know about you, but this definitely applies to me ;D

My close friends are a big part of this day for me <3 With them, I want to enjoy this MERINGUE DELIGHT, a perfect cup of coffee made with a Bialetti Moka pot, and of course a glass of bubbly! And what comes to my hubby… Maybe I’ll add a little lace… and my wild imagination 😀

MERINGUE CAKE

What you’ll need:
4 egg whites
2 dl extra fine sugar
1/3 tl white wine vinegar
2 tl corn starch flour
whipped cream, ice cream, or curd
berries of your choice

Separate the egg whites from the yolk. Be precise, because if even a little bit of the yolk gets mixed in with the egg whites, you won’t get the texture you want. Use room temperature eggs. Whisk the egg whites, until the foam is firm and stays in the bowl if you turn the bowl upside down. I recommend using a stainless steel mixing bowl, as a plastic bowl might have some grease left on its surface.

Add the sugar, white wine vinegar, and corn starch in small doses into the egg white foam, mixing it continuously. Extra fine sugar will make the texture of the meringue better. (If you are a fan of liquorice, add 2 tsp of liquorice powder.

By using white wine vinegar and corn starch flour, you get a beautiful color and a soft inside to the meringue. For a more traditional meringue, leave out the corn starch flour.

Put the meringue batter into a pastry bag that has a decorative nozzle on it. Extrude the meringue batter into 2 or 3 sheets on a covered oven tray. Dry the sheets of meringue in the oven at 75 degrees for about an hour.

You can use whatever you want to fill the cake, but I like to recommend using flavored curd, whipped cream, or ice cream. For decorations, you can use berries and fruits: strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, crushed chocolate, edible flowers, etc.