Intro:
Method:
Honeycomb:
1. The first component to start off with for this desert is the honeycomb, honeycomb takes some time to cool and set, therefore it’s best to start here. Start by adding 200g of white sugar, 20g of honey and 100g of golden syrup into a pan. Place onto a medium heat and slowly begin to dissolve the sugar. Whilst waiting on the sugar to dissolve prepare a small baking tray by lightly greasing then lining it with parchment paper. When ready, go back to the honeycomb liquid and bring the temperature up to 145°c.
2. When at temperature, add 20g of bicarbonate of soda then vigorously mix the liquid with a spatula to enable the liquid to foam rapidly. When nice and foamy remove the honeycomb liquid from the heat and very carefully pour the liquid into the baking tray. (I must stress that at this point the honeycomb is insanely hot and please do be careful when pouring). When poured try to refrain from mixing evenly into the baking tray as this will loose some of the air within the honeycomb, then allow to completely cool and to set.
3. When the honeycomb has completely cooled, remove from the baking tray then simply break apart into more manageable pieces. This honeycomb can be stored in an air tight container for weeks meaning it can also be made way in advance.
Italian Meringue:
4. Now to move onto making the Italian meringue, the key things that make or break meringue is the temperature in which we take the sugar to. Start by adding 200g of white sugar and 50mls of water into a small saucepan. Place onto a medium to high heat and begin to heat the sugar until the temperature reaches between 117-120°c.
5. Whilst we heat the sugar at the same time add 100g (approximately 3 egg whites) to a clean dry mixing bowl and begin to beat the egg whites. Whip the egg whites either in a machine whisk or by hand to encorporate as much air into the whites as possible. When well whisked and the temperature of the sugar has reached between 117-120°c we are now ready to incorporate the sugar into the egg whites.
6. Turn the machine whisk to high or whisk rapidly. Next slowly add the sugar to the egg whites whilst continuously whisking. enabling the heat of the sugar to cook and set the egg whites stiff. When all of the sugar has been added, continue to whisk until the meringue begins to cool. Take care not to over or under whisk the meringue at this stage. When ready the meringue should have stiff peaks and be nice and glossy. Transfer the meringue into a piping bag lined with a piping nozzle if you prefer then store in the refrigerator for now.
Key Ingredients:
7. The last few components for this desert are super simple, simply roughly chop a handful of pistachios and slice and deseed some plums leaving the skin on. We want to use slightly underripe plums as these will add a good sour element to the dish to balance out the sweetness of the honeycomb and meringue. When ready add 50g of honey into a pan and add the plums skin side down. Place onto a medium to low heat and begin to cook the plums and to also infuse the honey.
8. After approximately 5 minutes of simmering the plums flip them over and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. When cooked we are looking for the plums to still maintain a little texture yet be thoroughly cooked through. When ready remove the plums from the honey and save the now infused honey as we can drizzle this this over the plums when serving.
9. Now to serve, begin by adding the cooked plums onto a plate then pipe the meringue randomly around the plums. Use a blowtorch to lightly torch the meringue then dust with some matcha powder. Add some pieces of honeycomb and a few chopped pistachios and finish with a light glaze of the infused plum honey and nourish… I hope you like this desert and I’m sure you will love it.
Additional notes
As for what other ingredients to use for this recipe then instead of plums, nectarines or apricots would also work really well. When cooking the fruit you could add even more flavour by adding herbs, citrus, lavender or various spices. Instead of pistachios you could also use walnuts and candy them by glazing in a caramel. However you go about this recipe im sure you will be pleasantly surprised…Until the next time, peace!
