Currantly at the Market

It's July and the currants have hit the market stalls. Last year I came across a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for Blackcurrant Ripple Meringues. I happened to have all the ingredients in the house so away I went, doubling the meringues because I had 4 egg whites hanging about the fridge waiting for a purpose in life. The meringues are gorgeous and the whole dish very easy.

Ready for the oven.

Ingredients
200g barquette (small punnet) of locally grown cassis (blackcurrants)
A heaped tbsp sucre glace (icing sugar)
4 egg whites from local free range hens
200g sucre en poudre (castor sugar) + 1 heaped tbsp
25cl Creme crue from my local laitiere (250ml double cream)
1 tbsp creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)

Out of the oven and cooling.

Method

1. Strip the blackcurrants from their stems and put into a small saucepan with a tablespoon of water.
2. Bring to a simmer and cook until they burst (5 - 10 minutes).
3. Rub through a sieve to create a coulis and stir in the icing sugar.
4. Leave to cool.
5. Heat the oven to 100C.
6. Line baking trays with non-stick baking sheets - you need enough space for 18 meringues.
7. Beat the egg whites until thick, then gradually add the 200 g castor sugar and beat until the stiff peak stage.
8. Add several spoonfuls of the cooled fruit puree to the meringue and gently swirl about until you have a pleasing streaky pattern.
9. Spoon 18 dollops on to the trays, making sure they are pulled into attractive pointy bits.
10. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, then remove and cool on the trays.
11. Loosen the cream with the remaining tablespoon of the castor sugar and the creme de cassis, then whip to soft peaks.
12. Sandwich pairs of meringues together with some cream and serve drizzled with the remaining blackcurrant coulis.

Ready to eat.

And while you've got the cassis out, you might as well make yourself a kir...

Yum

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