Serves 4
Ingredients
Balsamic vinegar ice-cream
60g of balsamic vinegar, 8 years old
480g of milk
5 large egg yolks
120g of caster sugar
5g of trimoline
120g of double cream
Strawberry powder (for the meringue)
10 Sweet Eve strawberries, firm
Strawberry meringue
32g of egg white
25g of caster sugar
22g of icing sugar
1.5g of cornflour
Strawberry jelly
1kg of Sweet Eve strawberries, very ripe
½ lemon, zest and juice
100ml of stock syrup, 50/50
50ml of water
8 gelatine leaves, softened
Strawberry pureee (the marshmallow)
250g of Sweet Eve strawberries
25g of sugar
Strawberry marshmallow
625g of caster sugar
190g of water
85g of glucose
107g of egg white
30g of gelatine leaves, softened
Caster sugar
Cornflour
Strawberry macaroon
100g of egg white
100g of caster sugar
Red food colouring, powder
150g of icing sugar, sieved
125g of ground almonds, sieved
Strawberry conserve
500g of Sweet Eve strawberries, blended to a smooth puree
300g of caster sugar
15g of pectin
25g of lemon juice
To serve
Extra Sweet Eve strawberries
Equipment
Blender
Dehydrator
Ice cream maker
Muslin cloth
Piping bag with plain nozzle
Squeezy bottle
Sugar thermometer
Method
Begin by making the balsamic vinegar ice cream; put the milk into a pan and bring to the boil. Whisk the eggs, sugar and trimoline together in a bowl. Once the milk has come to a boil, gradually whisk it into the egg mix. Transfer back to the pan, stir continuously until it reaches 85 °C then pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
Add in the cream and vinegar, refrigerate overnight to allow the flavour to fully develop. Churn in an ice cream machine and then freeze until you are ready to use.
For the strawberry powder; thinly slice the Sweet Eve strawberries and put in a dehydrator until they are completely dry. Grind into a powder then transfer to an air tight container until needed.
Preheat the oven to 78°C.
For the meringue base; whisk the egg whites and caster sugar together to form stiff peaks, then slowly add in the remaining sifted cornflour and icing sugar until they are well combined.
Spread the mixture over a non-stick baking mat, to create a 2mm thick layer. Dust with the strawberry powder and cook in the oven for 90 minutes until it’s crisp. Leave to cool before breaking into rough pieces.
For the strawberry jelly; put all the ingredients, minus the gelatine leaves, into a large metal bowl, cover tightly with cling film. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water for 1 ½ hrs, top up the pan with more water if necessary, making sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the surface of the water. Once the time is up, pass the contents of the bowl through a fine strainer lined with muslin into a measuring jug. The juice should be clear. Mix in the sheets of softened gelatine leaves, using 8 per litre of juice. Set the jelly in a flat tray in the fridge.
For the strawberry puree for the marshmallows; cook the Sweet Eve strawberries and the sugar over a medium heat dissolving the sugar and leaving the Sweet Eve strawberries soft. Blend the Sweet Eve strawberries into a smooth puree, pass through a fine strainer. Put to one side and leave to cool.
For the marshmallows; add the sugar, water and glucose to a pan and bring to the boil, keep the mixture boiling until it reaches 130°C.
Use a mixer with a whisk attachment to beat the eggs whites into soft peaks. Slowly add the hot sugar mix into the eggs in a very slow, steady stream. Continue whisking the mixture until it has tripled in volume and has cooled down to a lukewarm temperature.
Pass the cornflour through a sieve into a bowl with the sugar. Mix together and then dust a tray evenly with the mix. Add the gelatine and 180g of the strawberry puree to the whipped marshmallow mix and stir until combined, pour into the tray lined with the cornflour. Dust the top with some more cornflour and sugar mix. Put into the freezer for 24 hrs. Cut it up and return in the freezer until needed.
For the strawberry macaroons; whisk the egg whites until they start to reach soft peaks, at this stage add the caster sugar in three additions. Continue to whisk after each addition until you reach stiff peaks, then add the food colouring. In a bowl combine the almonds and icing sugar, fold into the meringue.
Preheat the oven to 135°C/gas mark 1.
Using a 1cm plain nozzle, pipe 2.5cm circles onto non-stick paper, let them sit for 30minues at room temperature while they form a thin skin, then bake in the oven for 15mins until crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool then keep in an air tight container.
To make the strawberry conserve; bring the blended Sweet Eve strawberries to the boil, add the sugar and pectin. Allow this to boil for 5 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice. Pour the mix into a tray and leave to cool in the fridge.
Use half of the strawberry conserve as filling for the macaroons, put the other half in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a squeezy bottle to use as a garnish.
Take the marshmallow pieces out of the freezer 15 minutes before you are ready to serve.
To plate; sandwich the macaroon halves with the conserve, add two to each plate. Garnish with the meringue, marshmallow and jelly, finishing with halved fresh Sweet Eve strawberries and a liberal scoop of the balsamic ice cream.
Recipe courtesy of Great British Chefs. For more great recipes visit greatbritishchefs.com.