Pink Peppercorn Meringues

• 1/4 cup (62g) egg whites
• Cream of tartar
• 5 tablespoons (62g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon pink peppercorns, coarsely ground in a spice grinder
• (makes about 24 meringues)
• Rhubarb Sorbet (page 235)
• Diced fresh strawberries
• White Chocolate Ice Cream (page 221)
• Vanilla Whipped Cream (page 184)
• Crystallized verbena (page 186; optional)

1. Heat the oven to 150F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment and trace twenty-four 2-inch circles onto the paper.
3. Turn the parchment over, so the ink wont bleed into the meringues.
4. Put the egg whites and a tiny bit of cream of tartar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk.
5. Turn it on to low, and beat the whites gently for 2 minutes, to start establishing a structure.
6. The whites will look frothy but still a bit wet.
7. Turn the speed up to medium and add 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
8. Continue to beat at medium speed until the whites have body and are just shy of having soft peaks.
9. Add 2 more tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until the whites have formed firm peaks.
10. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until the whites are glossy and smooth and almost stiff.
11. Keep your eye on the whites, so you dont overbeat them.
12. If the whites get grainy, theyre useless.
13. Sift the confectioners sugar over the whites and sprinkle on the ground peppercorns.
14. Fold in gently but thoroughly.
15. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (#803 is perfect) and pipe out neat concentric circles from the outside in, using the circles you drew as a guide.
16. Keep inside the tracings so the finished meringues will fit into 2-inch ring molds.
17. Bake the meringues for about 1 hour, until crisp.
18. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
19. Set a meringue in the bottom of a 2 x 2-inch ring mold.
20. Fill the mold about half full with sorbet, using the back of a spoon to press the sorbet up against the sides all the way to the top, leaving a well in the center.
21. Clean the edges and freeze for at least 2 hours until firm.
22. Repeat for each serving.
23. Put a spoonful of strawberries in the sorbet well of each mold and cover with white chocolate ice cream, filling the mold to the top and evening it off.
24. Return to the freezer for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
25. Rub each mold briskly between your hands to release the vacherin.
26. Set it on a small plate and top with some vanilla whipped cream.
27. Crumble a few leaves of crystallized verbena over the top as a garnish, if you want, and serve.
28. You could buy meringues from a good pastry shop (you wont find them perfumed with pink peppercorns, though).
29. You could also crumble the meringues and layer the components in a parfait glass, like a trifle.
30. Just make sure to keep the amount of each component the same.

egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, confectioners sugar, pink, rhubarb sorbet, fresh strawberries, white chocolate, vanilla whipped cream

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pink-peppercorn-meringues-376775 (may not work)