Blood Orange & Lemon Meringue with Finger Lime & Wood Sorrel

Recipe By: Katrina Kanetani from Town café and restaurant, Bangalow

Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Italian Meringue
150g sugar
2 tablespoons (40ml) water
15g glucose
3 egg whites
1 blood orange, zested

Lemon curd
2 medium eggs
120g sugar
Zest of 1 ½ lemons
80g lemon juice
150g butter-cold-cubed
½ leaf gelatine

Tuile
50g plain flour
65g caster sugar
35g pure icing sugar, sifted
4 egg whites
75g melted butter

Crumble
250g plain flour
200g sugar
170g almond meal
250g butter

To serve
1 red finger lime, deseeded
Nasturtium flowers
Wood sorrel

1. To make meringue: place sugar, water and glucose into a small pan over medium heat. Stir until it comes to the boil. Do not stir this syrup again. Simmer until it reaches 118°C. Meanwhile beat egg whites until soft peak stage. Then slowly drizzle in the hot syrup, making sure it doesn’t hit the whisk. Continue whisking until meringue is cold, about 15 minutes. Stir through blood orange zest.
2. To make the lemon curd: Combine eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice and whisk constantly over medium heat until hot and thickened, but not boiling. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. (if you want a really firm set – recommended for piping, soften gelatine in cold water, squeeze dry and then whisk into curd.) Leave to cool.
3. To make the tuile: preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
4. Sift together dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add egg whites and whisk until the batter is smooth and free from lumps. Whisk in melted butter gradually and carefully, to avoid curdling.
5. Using a splatula, spread thinly on a silicone sheet. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until golden brown, then cut into rectangles. Quickly roll each around a cannoli mould to make a tube, pressing down on the join. If the tuile are not warm enough to roll, pop briefly back into the oven to soften.
6. To make crumble: preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Combine dry ingredients. Rub in butter using the tips of the fingers only. Ensure there are no butter lumps. Drop clumps onto a baking tray and bake for 30 mins or until golden. Cool.
7. To assemble: pipe cold lemon curd into tuile. Pipe meringue onto serving plate, placing a mound at one end and a strip to the other side of the plate. Using a wet spoon flatten slightly along the length. Using a Bunsen burner, colour the surface of the meringue. Place some crumble over the meringue in the middle of the plate. Dust with icing sugar.
8. Decorate with flowers and wood sorrel, place tuile at an angle on top. Serve immediately.

*Note: Australian measurements 1 tablespoon = 20ml are used throughout.