Imagine you have been planning the dinner party for weeks now, it’s a few hours before the guests arrive, the starters are prepped, the wine chilled and the table laid when you get that dreaded phone call, “Hi, did I tell you that my guest doesn’t eat fish or maybe it’s onions or mushrooms and it always turns out to be a major ingredient in the culinary feats that you have sweated blood and tears over all day.
On this one occasion the phone call came exactly three hours before my guests were due and informed me that one of them was a celiac. I replied that of course I know what a celiac is, don’t worry it’s not a problem. Laptop on; I quickly Googled Celiac, no its not a fear of celery as I thought but Celiac disease is a digestive disease, which means the sufferer can not absorb gluten found in wheat, rye and barley.
The starter was safe as was the main course but dessert was a disaster, a gorgeous chocolate sponge cake, the Pièce de résistance of the whole meal. I flung open the cupboard doors to reveal nothing helpful but flour and sugar, the fridge was equally unhelpful apart from three eggs and some crème fraîche, the fruit bowl offered only a few oranges. They say that necessity is the mother of invention and with no little trepidation gathered the eggs, sugar and oranges together and set too to create what has now become one of my favourite desserts ‘Caramalised Oranges on meringue bases’.
For the meringue bases
Makes 8 large bases
3 egg whites
6 oz caster sugar
Topping
1 jar crème fraîche
175g caster sugar
300ml water
4 medium oranges
Pre heat the oven to 150c / 300f and grease some baking paper on two oven trays.
Separate the 3 egg whites and whisk until it forms peaks.
Slowly add the 175g of caster sugar whilst beating the egg whites.
(I didn’t have any cornflour or vinegar and have never bothered since)
Spoon the mixture onto the baking trays to create 8 individual desserts.
Pop into the oven and immediately turn down to 140.
After an hour switch the oven off but leave the meringues in the oven.
Next for the topping; remove the peel from the oranges then slice into rings, removing the inner pith.
Gently heat 175g of sugar in 150ml of water. Stir the sugar until it dissolves.
Boil without stirring until it turns a caramel colour.
Remove from the heat and add 150ml of cold water and stir vigorously creating a thick sweet liquid. Add the orange slices and leave to soak.
When ready to serve spoon some crème fraîche onto each meringue base. Arrange slices of the oranges on top and spoon over some of the sugar liquid. Finally sit down with your guests, pretend that you never panicked and enjoy!!
