The Sorbet and Meringue Merengue

            It’s dessert time on the blog again, and the theme of today’s dessert is waiting. Firstly for the meringues to dry out and secondly for the sorbet to freeze. But believe me, it’s entirely worth it.

            Meringues are sort of truffle, bite-size, delicacies that Moosewood presents as either chocolate or lemon flavored. They’re incredibly light (no butter, oil, or flour) made mostly from egg whites. You bake them at a low temperature for about three hours. The consolation prize is the unreal and completely decadent smell that permeates your entire apartment. I wanted to make both the lemon and chocolate at the same time, but there wasn’t enough room on my one pan. I probably couldn’t fit two pans in my oven anyway. But this meant I got a round one and round two of meringues!

            The berry sorbet was another light and simple dessert that took awhile to make. Basically you make Moosewood’s berry sauce and then stick it in the freezer. Hilariously, Moosewood’s first recommendation was to make berry sauce and put it in an ice cream maker and follow the instructions there. Though I’m kind of offended that the author would immediately assume I own an ice cream maker, she does indicate that she herself doesn’t even have one. Though apparently this recipe is technically called “berry ice” rather than sorbet. And ironically, you have to defrost the berries before freezing them again.

            The meringues have the confusing quality of being both fluffy and crispy at the same time. To be honest, they’re very similar to Styrofoam. But tastier. They’re kind of porous on the inside, but packed with flavor and decadence. I wish I had a pastry bag so that mine weren’t just amorphous blobs of dessert, but for now, the deliciousness will suffice.