This is one of the easiest desserts to prepare, as the shells and frozen yogurt can be purchased. It is, also, a beautiful choice for a formal or informal summer dinner. It looks spectacular with its white base, a mountain of frozen pink yogurt and red strawberries, sparkled with liqueur, on the top and sides. The meringue shells can be purchased in most bakeries and can be filled with the yogurt earlier in the afternoon and stored in the freezer. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, if yogurt is frozen solid. (I would recommend that the frozen yogurt be purchased in the late afternoon to avoid its freezing too firm.) Spoon the fresh strawberries on the top and sides just before serving. Meringue Shell recipe follows, if you choose to make your own.
6 meringue shells, about 4-inches in diameter.
(Can be purchased from most bakeries or, use recipe below.)
3 cups frozen non-fat strawberry yogurt
1 pint strawberries, sliced (reserve 4 large strawberries for
decorating the tops)
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier liqueur
4 teaspoons chopped toasted almonds (optional)
Pile yogurt into meringue shells in a high
swirl, (4 ounces in each), and freeze until serving time. Mix
together sliced strawberries and Grand Marnier about 1 hour before
serving and store in the refrigerator. To serve, spoon the strawberries
over the yogurt and place one whole strawberry on top. A sprinkling
of chopped toasted almonds is a nice addition. Serves 6.
(About 150 calories per serving-with almonds)
Note: Fresh peaches and peach yogurt can be substituted for the strawberries.
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Meringue Shells
While these are available at most bakeries, the recipe is included in the event they are hard to find. The shells are attractive filled with frozen strawberry yogurt and drizzled with sliced strawberries. Chocolate frozen yogurt, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a sprinkle of toasted sliced almonds is also beautiful. Meringue shells are basically not baked but dried in the oven. Don't allow them to brown.
3 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, at
medium speed, beat whites until they are foamy. Start adding the
sugar, a tablespoon at a time and increase speed to high. Keep
beating while adding the sugar slowly, until meringue is stiff
and shiny. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop meringue
by the heaping tablespoon onto the paper. With the back of a spoon,
indent the center and build up the sides. Bake at 225-degrees
for 1 hour, turn oven off and allow meringues to dry for several
hours in the oven. Shells should not brown. This will yields 12
meringue shells.
(About 50 calories per serving)
To Make Meringue Kisses:
Follow instructions as above, but drop meringue by the teaspoonful
onto parchment-lined pan. Yields 48 kisses.
(About 12 calories per kiss)
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