In December when I tested the Sarah Bernhardt recipe before posting it on the blog I decided to freeze more than half of the almond meringue cookies I baked (the lighter almond version) without the chocolate filling as I thought it might be nice to have some plain crunchy cookies around to enjoy with my afternoon tea or coffee.
As I knew I would, I loved munching on these cookies but then I thought, they would also be perfect for an easy2make dessert; stacked up with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, for my staying at home, no fuzz Xmas menu!
To be honest, the results were terrific and I’m pretty sure that I will be offering this scrumptious dessert on many other occasions in the future. The important thing is to have a stock of cookies in the freezer and whenever you fancy or need to put together a yummy dessert in a whiff, the only thing you need to do is whip up some cream, slice a few fresh strawberries (or other fruit) and stack up to your liking. For an extra touch and extra color, sprinkle with grated or finely swirled dark chocolate. Flaked almonds are also a nice touch.
For our Christmas dessert, I used three cookies per person as I felt that was plenty but you might want to play with the idea and the fruit. Apart from using berries, I have a feeling peaches and figs would be nice or even caramelized pears or apples.
For the cream, I whipped up 200 ml cream with a little confectionery sugar and a few drops of pure vanilla extract, but you can use vanilla sugar that is readily available in most grocery stores. The whipped cream was actually plenty for 4 servings . . . so keep that in mind if you fancy making this dessert.
If you have some nice dessert glasses, this would be another great option for this dessert instead of stacking it up on a plate.
For this dessert you will need the following Ingredients:
Almond meringue cookies
Whipped Cream
Confectionary sugar and a bit of vanilla essence or vanilla sugar, to taste
Fresh Strawberries, sliced
Dark Chocolate – grated or swirled for decoration (optional)
Also, here is the recipe for the Almond Meringues that I used for the dessert. You should get about 20 – 30 pieces according to size.
Almond Meringue Recipe
Please note that this is half a recipe of the lighter version of the Sarah Bernhardt Cookie recipe published earlier on the blog in December. However, if you like more almonds just stick to the original recipe . . . here is a link!
Ingredients
75 g blanched almonds
½ tblsp granulated sugar
125 g confectionery sugar
2 large egg-whites
Place almonds with ½ tblsp sugar in a blender or food processor bowl and process until finely ground. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time and process or blend. Scrape bottom and insides of bowl to loosen clumped almond mixture, then continue to process until very finely ground. Set aside.
Beat egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk and mix until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold in almond/sugar mixture a third at a time.
With a teaspoon, put small dollops of dough on a baking sheet covered with baking paper or if you prefer transfer to a large pastry bag fitted with a 0.7cm (1⁄2") plain pastry tip. Pipe 1"(2.5cm) rounds about 2cm (a bit less than an inch) apart onto baking sheets.
Bake at 175°C (350°F) for about 15–18 minutes or until cookies have a very light golden hue and feel stiff.
Leave to cool and then transfer to a baking wire rack.
When completely cold, store in freezer until needed.
©KaritasM – January 2019