Meringue coffee ice cream

Meringue coffee ice cream is a deliciously indulgent cold dessert that combines the pleasure of coffee with the sweetness and crispiness of meringue. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized Italian meringues
• 500 ml of whipping cream
• 200 ml of cold espresso coffee
• 130 g of icing sugar
• Cocoa powder for garnishing (optional)

Preparation

1. Prepare the espresso coffee and let it cool completely.
2. In the meantime, whip the very cold cream with the icing sugar until it reaches a firm and foamy consistency.
3. Once the coffee has cooled down, gently fold it into the whipped cream.
4. Crumble the meringues, leaving pieces not too small nor too large to get the right crunchy texture in the ice cream.
5. Add the crumbled meringues to the coffee cream and gently mix with a spatula to distribute them evenly.
6. Pour the mixture into a loaf pan lined with cling film or into an ice cream container.
7. Cover with cling film and leave in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours, or better overnight, to ensure that the ice cream sets well.
8. Before serving, invert the meringata onto a serving plate and remove the cling film.
9. If desired, decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder or with dollops of whipped cream.

Curiosity

Meringata is a dessert that is often confused with pavlova; both are meringue-based, but pavlova is typically topped with fresh fruit and cream, while meringata is more often associated with cream and other ingredients like chocolate or, in this case, coffee. Meringue coffee ice cream is a cold variant that is perfect for the summer season.