From the pages of Eat Up New Zealand

If memory serves me right I think I first saw rose water meringues at Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli in Wellington’s Lyall Bay. Katie Richardson heads up the talent in the kitchen there and at The Maranui Cafe, a couple a hundred metres down the road. Both gaffs deserve the iconic reputation that they have garnered over the years, serving delicious coffee and fabulous food. Anyway, the rose water touch always intrigued me, and because I love Turkish delight, I thought I’d have go at folding little pieces of this sticky sweet into the meringues just prior to putting them in the oven. And I’ll be darned, it actually worked! The Turkish delight adds a little chew and rose water gives the meringues this delicious kind of sweet floral note. Cream and strawberries complete these treats.

Makes 24 – 30 Meringues
 

Ingredients…

- 4                         Egg Whites

- 2 Tbl                   Water

- 2 Tbl                   Rose Water

- 2 Tbl                  White Wine Vinegar

- 2 cups               Castor Sugar

-                           Red Food Coloring

- 100gm               Rose Flavored Turkish Delight (cut into small pieces)

-                           Strawberries – hulled and quartered to serve

-                           Whipped or runny cream, to serve

-                           Icing Sugar for dusting (optional)

Method…

Preheat your oven to 100 degrees. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

To a small saucepan, add the water, rose water, and white vinegar. Bring up to the boil then remove from the heat.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a handheld electric whisk, beat the egg whites on medium speed for a minute or so. Add the rose water and vinegar mixture and continue to beat for a further minute, until the egg whites have become frothy.

While beating, start slowly adding the caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time – it should take around 15 minutes to add most of the sugar. When you are about three quarters of the way through the sugar, add a few drops of the red food colouring to give you the desired pink colour.

The meringue is ready when it is stiff and glossy. With a rubber spatula, turn the meringue out into a large bowl and fold through the Turkish delight pieces. If you want a bit of a marbled effect, add a few more drops of the red food colouring and gently fold through without mixing it all in.

Using a couple of tablespoons, spook the meringues onto the prepared trays. Place in the oven and bake for 1 ½ hours, rotating trays halfway through the baking time. When the time is up, turn off the oven and leave the meringues in the oven without opening the door until completely cooled, preferably overnight.

To serve, divvy up the strawberries into bowls. Add a meringue or two and liberal amounts of cream. Dust with icing sugar, if you feel the need. Eat now!