After this weeks charity bake off I thought I’d give Paul Hollywood’s queen of puddings a go. I have adapted the recipe to make it both gluten free and dairy free. If like me, you struggle to lift heavy things out of the oven, get some help as the water bath/bake tray they sit in during the first bake gets quite heavy. Makes 6 small ramekins.
Ingredients For the custard: 400ml almond milk 1/2 a vanilla pod 25g caster sugar 3 large egg yolks
For the pudding: 80g of gluten free brioche (I just used a small roll). 6 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam
For the meringue: 3 large egg whites 150g caster sugar
Method 1. Preheat the oven to 160*C/140*C fan. 2. Grease ramekins. 3. Blitz the brioche in a food processor until it becomes a crumb and put an equal amount into each ramekin. 4. Make a start on the custard. 5. Pour the milk into a saucepan with the vanilla, split the pod and scrape out the seeds. Throw the pod in as well and bring just to the boil. Once it reaches the boil remove from heat immediately. 6. Whisk egg yolks and 25g of caster sugar. Strain and pour the milk into to the yolk mixture continuing to whisk as it’s added to form a custard. 7. Pour custard into the ramekins containing the brioche and let stand for 5 minutes. 8. Stand ramekins in a roasting tin filled halfway with boiling water and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the custard sets. 9. Set aside to cool. 10. Reduce oven temperature to 150*C/130*C fan. 11. Once custard is cooled add in a layer of jam on top of the custard. 12. Make meringue, start by whisking up the egg whites until they form white stiff peaks. 13. Add in the 150g of caster sugar a tablespoon at a time, continuously whisking until meringue makes stiff peaks again and is glossy in appearance. 14. With about a quarter of the meringue fill the ramekins up with a layer of meringue. 15. Pipe the remaining meringue into kisses on the very top. 16. Bake for 15 mins until lightly golden. 17. Allow to cool slightly and serve.
*With any leftover meringue mixture, you can make little meringue kisses, which I put in the oven to bake along with the puddings.
So as you may or may not know, I don’t always drink alcohol for a number of reasons. I try to limit my drinks to once or twice a month or special occasions, but as you can probably see on my instagram it varies. It’s not exactly the easiest thing to keep up when you love a bevy haha. First and foremost is because I have bipolar disorder. Alcohol and bipolar do not go very well together. It can push me into a full blown manic episode. It will reach a point where I’m drinking with imaginary friends, run off with them into the night, go bat shit crazy and I will probably fight you if you try to take my wine away. Let’s be honest over the years, it’s got me into all kinds of trouble. The other is living with a chronic illness (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). Alcohol seems to make my chronic pain and fatigue considerably worse, it also sets my bowel off. I will end up with either diarrhoea for days or my gastroparesis will flare up and I’ll be vomitting every time I eat, for what can sometimes be weeks.
Over the past 12 months I’ve been sampling different alcohol free wines, gins, beers and ciders. I know a lot of people are doing dry January (well Boris put a spanner in the works of that one for some of us didn’t he) or those who also have health issues so do not drink. So I’m going to share my top 3 of each with you.
Alcohol free wines: Sparkling: 1. Scavi & Ray alcohol free. 10/10. If you’ve ever had the alcohol containing version there’s not much flavour difference, so all the prosecco, zero the alcohol. Retails at around £8.99 on amazon. I have yet to find it in a shop!
2. Freixenet sparkling rose.’ This is a wine I’ve bought time and time again because it’s so good. £5 in selected supermarkets.
3. Belle & Co alcohol free sparkling rose.’ This pops up in supermarkets every now and again, really lovely but is not as wine tasting as the others. Really good value and usually ranges from £3-£5.
I know I said I was only doing 3 however they can be on the pricey side, so if you’re looking for a cheaper version Asda do their own version and it’s really good value at £3.50 and is a lovely dry sparkling wine. Not 100% alcohol free but really low alcohol.
I just want to add in two wines that aren’t sparkling they are: Hardy’s alcohol free chardonnay. If you drink white wine you will love this. You could be drinking an alcohol containing wine, it’s actually that good.
If you have people over and you fancy some sangria without the alcohol I highly recommend using Fre’ alcohol removed merlot, which actually went down really well with even the alcohol drinkers when we had people over. To give it a bit more flavour I used fanta instead of lemonade which sounds weird, but believe me it’s a game changer.
Alcohol free beers and ciders: For me there are only a small number of alcohol free beers I can drink as most contain gluten, so I am by no means an expert on them. Ciders however, are pretty much all free from gluten.
Beers I’ve tried: 1. Big Drop Brewing co. paradiso citra IPA. This did taste like the real thing. I love a gluten free IPA so this is right up my street. Honestly drinking these I did not feel like I was missing out on anything as they look so much like a normal beer.
2. Free star – completely gluten and alcohol free. It was nice but I personally found it was lacking full flavour. I would easily drink one or two but it isn’t something I could drink all night at a party.
Top 3 alcohol free ciders: 1. Old Mout Cider – alcohol free berries and cherries flavour. I often order this in the pub if they have it. You can tell it’s alcohol free, however it tastes so fruity and sweet that it doesn’t matter. Plus you don’t feel like the odd one out with a bottle of this on the table.
2. Strongbow ultra low alcohol cider. I used to drink the alcohol version of this, so it’s obviously going to score highly with me. Again can kind of tell it’s not the real thing, but it doesn’t matter because it tastes so good and does have that cider aftertaste. This was my drink of summer 2020.
3.Sheppy’s Low Alcohol classic cider. Not completely alcohol free, but is only 0.5% so good luck getting drunk on them haha. I’ve only had this a couple of times, but if you prefer a more classic cider to a fruit one this is the one for you. Does have that cider taste with only a fraction of the alcohol.
Finally onto the good stuff my top 3 alcohol free gins: Right these are difficult for me to put in order because some of them are amazing and all for different reasons. Here goes:
1. So there is a tie for joint first because I love both of these gins for completely different reasons. Gordons alcohol free both smells and tastes exactly like the alcoholic version. This is quite a rare thing to find when looking at alcohol free spirits because though they are full of botanicals there’s always something missing which this one has. Similarity to the real thing.
Seedlip spice 94. This is a favourite for the fact is tastes absolutely amazing with tonic water and a slice of lime. It’s light and fruity and I can have several of these without getting bored of them. However for an alcohol free spirit it comes in at one of the more pricey ones retailing at on average £25 for a bottle.
2. Ceder’s distilled non- alcoholic gin. This is full of your classic gin botanicals so you’ll definitely feel like you’re enjoying your favourite gin without the hangover. On average this is about £20- £25 and stocked in a quite a few of your standard supermarkets.
3. Amplify zing and zest. Another fruity alcohol free alternative that goes great with Mediterranean tonic water. It’s not quite on the same level as the others, but is a little cheaper at £15 a bottle.
Hope this helps you manage your dry January/not drinking a little easier.
This recipe is a bit of a cheat using shop bought, pre rolled, gluten free pastry. However it does include the process of caramelising onions which takes about 45 minutes, so make sure you leave yourself some time to let them cool before assembling the tarts. Makes 3-4 tarts.
Ingredients
For caramelised onions: 3 large red onions. 2 tbsp of garlic olive oil. (normal is fine but garlic does add to taste) 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Pinch of salt. 1 tbsp of brown sugar (caster is also fine)
Fot tart: 1 packet of pre rolled, gluten free pastry. (obviously if you want to make your own you can) 3-4 tbsp of green pesto. 125g mozarella.
Method
To caramelise onions: 1. Start by chopping onions into thin long strands. 2. Add to pan with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and sugar. 3. Cook on a low to medium heat for about 45 minutes, stirring at regular intervals to ensure everything is mixed and nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. 4. The onions will eventually start to caramelise and go a nice deep purple colour and of a sticky consistency. 5. Put in a bowl and leave to the side to cool, as adding hot ingredients to the pastry can cause problems with rising.
Tarts: Preheat the oven to 170*C fan oven. 1. Cut pastry into approximately 5cm circles. 2. First add the pesto, spread a layer out across the base of your pastry rings. 3. Add about a table spoon and a half of the onions on top of the pesto. 4. Tear up the mozzarella and spread across the onions. 5. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes until the outside of the pastry has browned nicely. 6. Serve with chips or a salad!
This is one of my favourite stir fries to make. It’s quick, easy and tasty and completely gluten free as well as low histamine. This recipe serves one, but feel free to double the recipe accordingly. This can also be made vegan by missing out the chicken and swapping for a meat substitute or even just some extra veg.
Ingredients: 1 chicken breast, diced. 4 pieces of tenderstem broccoli 3 spring onions (cut into slices) 1/2 a pepper (diced into squares) 2 heaped tbsp of crunchy peanut butter. 3 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped finely) 1 tsp fresh ginger (finely chopped) 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp garlic olive oil for frying (normal olive oil is fine)
Method 1. Heat the oil in a pan on a medium- high heat 2. Fry the chicken or meat alternative. 3. Once the chicken is cooked add in the veg and fry for 2-3 minutes. 4. Add in the peanut butter and stir for about a minute, add a small amount of extra oil if it starts sticking to the pan. 5. Add in the garlic, ginger and salt, fry for an additional 2-4 minutes until all combined. 6. Put into a bowl and serve! Enjoy!
I’ve very recently gone back onto a low histamine diet in an attempt to reduce some of the severe digestive system symptoms I’ve been having. I’m not sure if a histamine intolerance/undiagnosed allergy issues could be further impacting whatever else is going on. As the diet avoids a lot of common ingredients found in store bought sauces, whilst avoiding preservatives, I’ve found it can be quite tricky. I thought I’d share some of my new recipes with you, starting with this basic pasta sauce using no tomato! This makes approximately enough for two to three meals.
Ingredients: 2 large red peppers (cut in half) *I use sweet pointed ones but any is fine* 1 red onion (cut into quarters) 1 butternut squash (peeled and cut into chunks) 1/2 a beetroot 2 garlic bulbs (top cut off) Garlic olive oil Sea Salt Black pepper
Method: 1. Heat oven to 200*C/180*C fan oven. 2. Prepare veg for roasting as per instructions in ingredients. 3. Spread the vegetables out on two trays lined with baking paper. Try to keep the butternut squash on its own tray as it cooks for longer. 4. Drizzle veg generously with garlic olive oil, sprinkle over sea salt and pepper. 5. Cook the tray with the pepper, onion and beetroot in the oven for 30-45 mins until starting to brown. Cook the tray with the butternut squash for a total of 1 hour to 1h15 until soft. 6. Using a blender blend all the veg together adding the basil, oregano, parsley and lemon juice. 7. Once completely blended your sauce should resemble a standard tomato pasta sauce. 8. When cooking the sauce add water to get the desired consistency for your meal!
If you wish to keep some of the sauce for another day, simply sterilise a glass jar and store in the fridge!
Since the UK first went into lockdown, I’ve been really weary and cautious about the places and scenarios I put myself in. I haven’t been completely shielded, however as someone with a chronic illness I am vulnerable and ‘at risk’. I would literally only go into shops at like 8am when I knew they’d be empty. Finally, last weekend, I decided to be brave and re-introduce myself into society by going out for food on the Friday night. We visited Ego at the Punchbowl in Sefton and I must admit it really has reduced the anxiety I feel about visiting restaurants in the future. This will cover a little about Coronavirus measures and then obviously the amazing gluten free food.
Health/safety/cleanliness Before arriving at the restaurant, I must admit I had quite bad anxiety on how the new procedures would be put into place to protect customers and staff and whether or not they were being monitored and followed throughout the night. As soon as I arrived it was like a huge sigh of relief seeing one staff member completely cleaning and disinfecting both tables and chairs in between customers. The tables were spread out to a safe distance and there was a lot less loitering about as drinks were table service only, no people queuing or chatting at the bar. Drinks were delivered to the table on a clean plastic tray, you took them off their yourself, so staff aren’t leaning over you and touching the glasses and then they took the tray away. Food ordering was pretty much the same as previously, but with staff taking extra precautions staying a safe distance away from the table.
Gluten free choices Onto the good stuff, food. I must really begin by mentioning that Ego has one of the most varied gluten free menus I have seen. Don’t worry if you don’t live locally to Liverpool/Sefton, as they have a chain of restaurants scattered around the country. They are a Mediterranean style restaurant so the menu has everything ranging from pastas, to Moroccan mains, fish courses and steak.
Starter For my starter I got Chorizo Frito Al Vino. This was chorizo in red wine, garlic, rosemary and thyme. It was absolutely gorgeous, literally some of the best tasting chorizo I’ve ever had. The portion size was just right for me. It was even served with toasted gluten free bread, which I used to mop up the sauce as it was so good! A few other starters to choose from included a vegetarian goats cheese starter, chicken liver pate and they even had vegan friendly options of soup or garlic mushrooms.
Chorizo
Main Course This was a very tough choice for me as their are so many mains to choose from, but I went with the hanging piri-piri chicken kebab, with a side of skin on fries. I was not disappointed. The kebab contained chicken chunks, onions, courgette and peppers all skewered together and char-grilled served on a bed of salad. It was cooked to perfection with a lovely char-grilled aftertaste, would definitely recommend. Fries were nice and crispy, just how I like them. Once again the menu not only catered for gluten free, but covered gluten free vegans and vegetarians with dishes such as a vegetable paella and Moroccan falafel. If I visited again I’d definitely try a pasta dish or steak, other people’s meals coming out the kitchen looked amazing.
Hanging peri-peri chicken kebab
Dessert For dessert I went with my general go to when I see that it’s on the gluten free menu, warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. It was so rich, gooey and delicious, I feel like I could have ate another and felt sickly all night, with no regrets haha. They had a selection of desserts available on the menu including creme brulee and eton mess, both of which I love, but I’m such a chocolate fiend that nothing could sway me.
Triple chocolate brownie
The experience overall I would say has put me at ease when it comes to dining out in these times of a post covid lockdown, ‘new normal’. The food here is absolutely worth a try as I cannot find fault in any of it. This is a restaurant I would definitely visit again and would have no issues in ordering a different meal on 3 or even 4 visits, without having to order the same thing over, as the gluten free menu is so big and varied.
First note I must add: sorry this is months late going up as it is from Feb/March but my health has recently deteriorated and I needed a break to rest and recover. My latest adventure was a cruise around the Caribbean with Marella who are part of Tui. It was my first cruise in years and I have to say that I absolutely loved it! 5 of us went, my Mum and Dad and two of their friends. I was wary at first, visiting so many places when my chronic illness could flare up at any minute. We had lots of trips planned from different ports and I didn’t want to let anyone down, especially if I didn’t have enough time to rest when we got back on the ship. Turned out I had plenty of relaxing time in between ports and of an afternoon.
So I’ll start by listing the destinations I did visit:
Boarded in Bridgetown, Barbados
Bequia, Grenadines
Scarborough, Tobago
St. Georges, Grenada
Roseau, Dominica
Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Castries, St. Lucia
Bridgetown, Barbados (we decided to stay here for 4 nights but decided to do a separate blog post about this hotel etc)
As always the staff in Manchester Airport could not have been more helpful in assisting me, the sunflower lanyard system, put in place to be able to identify people with hidden illnesses and disabilities, works amazingly. Meaning I don’t have to stand in long lines risking my PoTS kicking off and my hips becoming painful before I’ve even got on a plane. Upon landing in Barbados you and your suitcases are taken directly to the ship, this avoided all the usual messing about in the airport getting cases, finding transport etc, when all you want to do is get started with your holiday. The bus was on the runway near to the plane, which was great. Upon boarding you are informed that your cases will be dropped off at your cabin. This gave us time to figure out the layout of the ship, find out where everything was and to get a much needed snack and a cocktail in the Caribbean sunshine.
The ships decks are all pretty much flat meaning they were very easy for me to navigate my way around with my walking stick and limited mobility. There are a number of lifts throughout the ship to get to different floors and we never really had a problem getting one at any time of the day to change decks. Upon arrival I was pleased to find we had been assigned a room near the lift as per request on booking. The pool deck had enough space to negotiate your way through rows on sunbeds using my walking stick with ease. I cant say I found any mobility related issues on board, which I was surprised at as I had a misconception in my head that on a ship things would be more cramped together than they were. It was actually quite the opposite. It is literally like a big floating holiday resort. To add to my love of it, the explorer 2 is adults only, no offence to your children, but getting round a buffet restaurant on a walking stick with small children running around is really difficult. I don’t have the best grip strength on my plate as it is, someone knocking into me is likely to end up wearing some of my dinner haha.
Excursions I would recommend Rhum Runner 2. Probably my favoruite excursion, in St. Georges in Grenada. It started off with a shortish sail, while a steel band played Carribean music, to a lovely picturesque beach. From the time you first set sail until the time you arrive back you receive complimentary rum punch, probably not the trip for you if you don’t drink alcohol. Once you reach the beach you can get off for a couple of hours to sunbathe/swim in the sea. A member of the crew comes round a tray of rum punch, so you can have a refreshing drink whilst floating about in the sea. After this you get back on the boat to a more party atmosphere for the sail back, they had everyone up dancing and even held a limbo competition, (obviously limbo isn’t my forte) but everyone seemed to enjoy it. Probably my favourite day.
Wacky trucks in Dominica. This is another I would definitely recommend, it is great for those with limited mobility. You get to still see the island but from the ‘comfort’ an open topped 4X4. You could also swim in a waterfall from the film ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ unfortunately I had to give that part a miss due to hip pain flaring. My Dad swam in it and said it was amazing though.
Some excursion photos
Activities onboard I recommend Mini golf, located on deck 15. It is like golf with a view, especially if the ship is docked in a port! We absolutely loved it for a laugh of an afternoon. You do have to climb a set of stairs to get to it, so while not entirely accessible to all, on a good day, I could manage.
White party. The white party night was amazing, they had a Robbie Williams tribute act on the week we were sailing. He was really good and had everyone up dancing on the pool deck and the deck above. I would suggest getting there early as to make sure you get somewhere to sit as it got extremely busy.
Silent disco. There was also a silent disco night on the pool deck which was hilarious. It was on quite late so everyone had had a couple of drinks by this point, it definitely had a good party atmosphere with a lot of laughter going on.
Board games in coffee port. If you fancy something a bit quieter, located on deck 7 in the coffee port, there are board games you can play at no extra cost. They did the best coffee on the ship, they also do specialty drinks (I personally prefer my coffee flavoured). Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the ship for an hour or so. It was always quite quiet when we visited.
Quizzes and poolside activities. If you’re like me and you like to bask in the sun like a lizard by the pool, there’s always something going on. From Bollywood dance classes to random general knowledge quizzes over the tannoy. Never a dull moment. Sometimes I prefer to just lie there blasting music through my headphones. I couldn’t hear anything going on around me with them in, so if that’s more your thing, there’s something for everyone.
Gluten free food. Firstly I must say that the staff onboard were excellent when it came to attentiveness and ensuring you were catered for and well looked after with a dietary requirement. The restaurant manager was straight over to us if he spotted us walking into Marketplace (the buffet restaurant) to ask if there was anything in particular I needed. There were hand sanitizing stations available as you entered a new area/restaurant which was something that I found an added bonus, especially in these germ filled times. Breakfast Of a morning we ate in Marketplace and in the main restaurant depending on the time we got up. There was something to eat in both restaurants. The highlight for me in Marketplace would definitely be the gluten free pancakes. You did need to order these a day in advance with the chef or restaurant manager but they were honestly worth it. In the restaurant, I always went for the option of the omelette with gluten free toast. You could add whatever fillings you liked from a list to the omelette so it was to your taste. All gluten free options are clearly marked out on a menu card in the main restaurant so it makes it much easier to order. Lunch and snacks Of a lunchtime we tended to only visit the pool snack bar or the Marketplace restaurant, however meals are available in the main dining room. In the buffet restaurant the gluten free choices were varied, with each food item marked up as to if it contained gluten or not. I could always find something to my liking, that filled me up for the rest of the day. However on days you were just sunbathing and fancied a snack by the pool, I found to be quite difficult. The only hot food available from the snack shack was fries. Cold food wise they had a couple of salads that were GF. I had read online chicken wings were available for coeliacs, but I was disappointed when this was not the case. A food highlight for me was definitely afternoon tea in the buffet restaurant. They had a wide variety of sandwiches, biscuits and cakes, all gluten free to select yourself. It was lovely to sit out on the deck, with a cake and a cup of coffee to break the day up. Dinner time/evening meal Of an evening we generally went to the main dining room, which was separated over two floors into Latitude 53 which had your classic dining style of food, or Vista which was essentially contemporary Italian food. A gluten free menu was posted to the room each morning to select the food you wished to eat that evening. It had to be handed back in at reception once complete, first thing of a morning. The food was incredible and most nights I had three courses. In latitude 53 a lot of the dishes were local to the islands you had just visited, so it was cultural as well as being delicious. I literally have zero faults to pick with the main dining room as it was spacious, beautiful and spread over 2 floors. The other restaurant we frequented on more than one occasion was Nonna’s Italian. It served pizza and pasta dishes, both available as a gluten free option. This was a great restaurant for me as you could personalize the dishes to your taste by selecting your own ingredients if you wanted. I am a massive pizza fan so had a pizza piled high with my own chosen toppings on more than one occasion. One final point is that there are other restaurants on board available, that are not included in the price. However we personally didn’t feel the need to visit them as their was always something I wanted to try in the previously mentioned restaurants. The gluten free is also clearly marked out on these menus to check out before you book into them.
Breakfast options
Gluten free afternoon tea
Selection of food in Vista/Latitude 53Pizza in Nonna’s
On a final note, I would definitely recommend a cruise to anyone, young or old. I am not the best person on boats for sea sickness usually but I had no problem at all with this once onboard the ship as you could barely feel it moving. If you are worried about getting about on a ship with a disability or chronic illness, I would say they have it all covered. I found no problems at all getting about with limited mobility and I know there are specially adapted cabins available at request for wheelchair users and those with less mobility than myself. Finally as you have seen being gluten free or having dietary requirements is more than catered for on board and I did not have a single issue food wise other than a lack of poolside snacks, more of a personal preference thing though than anything else.
I loved the Marella Explorer 2 for my first cruising experience and I will definitely be going cruising again in the near future!
Ingredients 1 Large white onion cut into rings (I found batter sticks better to white than red onions) Vegetable oil 85g GF plain flour 1Tsp baking powder 1/2 Tsp salt 1/4 Tsp chilli powder 1 Tsp cajun seasoning 50ml almond milk 50ml water 1 Tbsp cornflour
Method Heat up enough oil in a pan to completely cover onions when dropped in. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, chilli powder and cajun seasoning in a bowl. Add almond milk and water to form a thick batter that sticks to the back of a spoon. Put cornflour in a food bag with sliced onion and shake until onion gets a slight coating on. Shake off any excess flour. Dip the coated onions in the batter until generously coated. Add coated onions to hot oil and fry until crispy (depending on pan size you might need to repeat this process more than once until all onions are done). Drain off the excess oil, I used kitchen paper. Serve as a starter, side dish or a snack and enjoy!
Crispy, gluten free onion rings!Onions and batter Coating in cornflourFrying
Ingredients 300g/2 boxes of gluten free HobNobs or similar 175g butter/dairy free alternative 400g of condensed milk 3 egg yolks 4 limes 300ml of dairy free double cream (trying to reduce the lactose levels but normal cream is fine) 2Tbsp of icing sugar
Method Heat the oven to 160*C fan/140*c Smash up the two packets of HobNobs until they are crumbs. Melt the butter until it is liquid either in a microwave or a pan. Add the butter to the crumbs, making a sticky mixture. Put the mix into a loose based tart tin, making sure you fully line the base and sides. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, remove and cool. I cooled mine in the fridge. While base is cooling put egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until they are thicker and foamy. About 3-4 minutes should be enough. Add the condensed milk and whisk for a further 3 minutes. While whisking juice and zest the four limes. These should slowly be added to the mixture as the whisk runs for a further 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into the now cooled base, put back in the oven for 15 minutes. Cool and then chill in the fridge for approximately 5 hours or more. When ready to serve whip up the double cream and icing sugar with a whisk on a high speed. Once thick enough consistency, use to decorate top of tart. Remove from base, slice, serve and enjoy!!
Ingredients For meringue: 300g caster sugar 6 egg whites For topping: 400g of strawberries 150g of dairy free white chocolate 50g of dark chocolate 300ml of dairy free double cream
Method Preheat oven to 140*C Cover two baking trays with grease proof paper. In a mixing bowl whisk egg whites for about 4/5 minutes until a white fluffy foam is achieved. Gradually mix in the caster sugar about a tablespoon at a time until a white glossy consistency is achieved that forms stiff peaks when the whisk is removed. Split the mixture between the two trays, shaping into disks, with a thicker outer rim so they can be filled. Bake for 45 minutes – an hour. Bake until the meringue solidifies and is crispy on the outside, be careful it doesn’t burn. Allow both meringue disks to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, take one disk, top with half the topping ingredients; cream, strawberries, and melted white and dark chocolate. Then top this with the second meringue disk and top with the remainder of the toppings and serve immediately! Enjoy!
My life with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome 