This is one of the most mouth-watering desserts we’ve come across lately, and even better, it was developed by our girl Abbey over at AbbeysKitchen.com. Check out our Q&A with her here and find two more recipes here.
Dairy & Gluten Free Lime Curd, Coconut Cream and Meringue-Duo Parfait
Dairy & Gluten Free Lime Curd, Coconut Cream and Meringue-Duo Parfait
Baked Meringues:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 ½ cup super fine sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 200 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
Add the egg whites to the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium until they become frothy and light. Add in the cream of tartar and beat until the egg whites hold soft peaks.
Once at soft peaks, you can start to add in the sugar a spoonful at a time and increase heat to medium high speed until the meringue holds stiff peaks. You can also test if it’s done by rubbing a little bit between your fingers. If it feels gritty, it’s not done yet so you can continue to beat for another minute or so.
Using two spoons, spoon 1 ½-2 tbsps of meringue in rows on the baking sheets. Bake the meringues for 2 hours, rotating the baking sheets half way through to make sure they cook evenly. The meringues are finished as soon as they are fairly crisp to the touch and release easily from the parchment.
Turn off the oven, open the oven door a good crack and allow the meringues to finish cooling until the oven is completely cool, overnight if possible. Store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.
Lime Curd:
½ cup plus 1 tbsp refined coconut oil
1 1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 large whole eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime zest
1 cup lime juice (from 12-16 fresh limes, depending on size)
Beat the coconut oil and sugar with an electric mixer in a bowl until combined, about 2-3 min. One at a time, beat in the eggs and egg yolks until mixed in. Then beat in the lime juice. At this point, you may think the mixture looks curdled and gross- that’s okay! As soon as the coconut oil melts, it will all smooth out.
Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan fitted with a thermometer and cook over low heat until it smooths out and no longer looks curdled.
Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture reaches 170 F and thickens up. If you coat the back of the wooden spoon and draw a line down the back, it should hold the shape of the line. Keep a very close eye on the mixture the whole time, as you don’t want to let it boil.
Remove the curd from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl or container. Stir in the lime zest. Put plastic wrap on the surface of the curd (to prevent the dreaded pudding skin) and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. This keeps for quite a while due to the high acid and sugar level, about 1 week.
Coconut Whipped Cream:
2 cans of full fat coconut milk
2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
2 tsp vanilla, or to taste
Put the coconut milk in the fridge for at least one hour, standing up right.
Open the cans and carefully remove the thick cream layer on top, being careful not to take any of the water underneath.
Beat until thick and smooth, about 4 minutes, then add in the sugar and vanilla to taste. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Italian Meringue:
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup water
Put the sugar and water in a small sauce pan fitted with a candy thermometer.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs whites on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium, and begin to beat until soft peaks form.
While beating, heat the sugar and water on medium low until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes. You can very delicately swirl the pan and brush down the sides with water if any bits of sugar start creeping up the sides but do not stir the mixture! Continue to cook until the sugar reaches 235-240 F (soft ball stage).
As soon as the meringue reaches soft peaks, and the sugar has reached the soft ball stage, continue to beat on low while pouring the hot syrup along the side of the bowl, letting the whisk pick it up and incorporate it into the meringue. Beat on medium high until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Transfer to a few plastic pastry bags (closed corner), and refrigerate set in a tall container or glass with plastic wrap on top until ready to use. This can be done the same day but several hours before serving.
Layer in a few spoonfuls of coconut cream into the bottom of 8 250 ml mason jars. Top with a spoonful of curd, and a thick layer of meringues that you’ve broken into smaller pieces. Top with one more spoonful of curd.
Cut the end off of the disposable pastry bags and swirl a generous amount of Italian meringue onto the top of the mason jar. Torch the meringue with a kitchen torch and serve immediately.
Serves 8.