Recipe Detail Page

1.  Preheat the oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
 
2.  Butter the moulds and place a disk of parchment paper in the bottom, set aside.

3.  Whisk the egg whites with electric mixer until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until stiff. Gradually add the sugar, beating until whites are thick and glossy.

4.  Spoon or pipe the mixture into moulds, smoothing the top. Place the moulds in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the moulds. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. The mixture will have puffed up, but it will fall back down. Let cool, then remove the moulds from the pan and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

5.  For sauce, in a saucepan, bring milk and the vanilla bean to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. While the milk is infusing, whisk the egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale.

6.  Strain the milk into a large measuring cup. Gradually whisk into egg yolk and sugar mixture.

7.  Pour this mixture into a clean pan and cook over low heat, stirring until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the cooked custard into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placing the plastic directly on to the surface of the custard. Refrigerate the custard until cold.

1. Lightly oil 2 wooden dowels and suspend them over the edge of the table. Cover the floor with lots of newspaper.

2. Place the sugar in a small heavy-based saucepan with ½ cup (125 mL) water and cream of tartar and bring slowly to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. The sugar must be completely dissolved before the liquid boils. Once it is boiling, do not stir. While mixture is boiling brush sides of the saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. This will prevent any crystals forming on the side of the pan. Continue to boil until the sugar is pale gold in colour. Remove the pan from heat and dip the base into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the sugar cooking further. Let stand for 1 minute or until it thickens slightly.

3. Dip a trimmed wire whisk or 2 forks held back to back into the caramel and flick the sugar over the dowels. This will form fine threads of sugar. Repeat until you have made enough sugar threads.

4. Carefully remove the spun sugar and set aside. Spun sugar is very susceptible to humidity and should be made no more than 1 hour before serving. (To make crushed caramel, cook the sugar until a dark caramel colour then pour onto an oiled baking sheet. Once it is hard, break it into small pieces.)

5. To serve, remove the baked meringues from the refrigerator and unmould onto paper towel to drain any liquid.

6. Pour about 1/3 cup (75 mL) of custard onto a dessert plate, place the baked meringue on top and garnish with the spun sugar. Serve immediately.