Rose Petal Meringues

ROSE PETAL MERINGUES, CREAM AND RASPBERRIES
Makes 8
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
110g rose petal sugar

For the topping:
250g mascarpone cheese
200ml crème fraiche or whipped cream
1 Tablespoon icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To finish: Fresh raspberries and edible rose petals from Kanuka Organics

Preheat the oven to 150C
You will also need a large baking sheet measuring 16 x 12 in (40 x 30 cm), lined with baking parchment.

To make the Rose Petal Sugar: Put 1 ¼ cups caster sugar and 4 Tablespoons dried rose petals into a food processor and processor until a pretty pink sugar has formed. Store excess sugar in a jar – will last 1-2 months.

To make the meringues, place the egg whites in a large, grease-free bowl and, using an electric mixer whisk on a low speed, begin whisking. Continue whisking turning up the speed to high until the egg whites are foamy and stiff peaks have formed. Next, whisk the sugar in on fast speed, a little (about a dessertspoon) at a time, until you have a stiff and glossy mixture. Now all you do is spoon 8 heaped dessertspoons of the mixture on to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Using the back of the spoon or a small palette knife, hollow out the centres. Don’t worry if they are not all the same shape – random and rocky is how I would describe them.

Next, pop them on the centre shelf of the oven, immediately reduce the heat to 140°C, and leave them for 30 minutes. After that, turn the oven off and leave the meringues to dry out in the warmth of the oven until it is completely cold (usually about 4 hours).

Mix the mascarpone, sugar and cream or crème fraiche together. Mix using either an electric hand mixer or by hand. Beat until the creams are combined and a smooth, silky mixture has formed.

To Assemble: spoon the cream mixture onto cold meringues, top with fresh raspberries or strawberries and sprinkle with the rose petals.