I wanted to make something with the last of the blood oranges I came across at the supermarket before I left, and I remembered seeing the recipe for this meringue stack over on Izy’s blog and falling in love with it. So, I decided to give it a go here in a repurposed way. I made a blood orange curd for the filling along with a bit of homemade whipped cream, and used California Olive Ranch’s delicate and fruity Arbequina olive oil for it. It adds a subtle richness and silkiness to the curd, and I also drizzled the olive oil over each layer of the meringue stack, too, for an extra bit of brightness. I thinly sliced some blood oranges, sprinkled them with sugar, and broiled them until they turned a bit golden around the edges and the magenta fruit turned incredibly fragrant. When everything was stacked together, I popped it in the freezer for a bit to make it easier to slice (maybe like 1 hour) or you could just slice it at room temp and let it be gloriously messy. The first bite was heaven, the crisp sweetness of meringue, the lightness of whipped cream, the silkiness of the homemade citrus curd, the tang of the broiled blood oranges, and the fruity bite of the rich Arbequina olive oil all combined to create a flavor wonderfully reminiscent of summer at the end of winter, almost like a bit of fresh air to hold you over until the weather warms up again. And I think that as long as I had this meringue stack by my side, I wouldn’t really care what the weather was either way.
Meringue Stack with Blood Orange Olive Oil Curd
Ingredients
Vanilla Meringues
- 9 egg whites
- 1 1/2 ultra fine sugar
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Blood Orange Olive Oil Curd
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 3 blood oranges)
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into 1 tablespoon slices (at room temperature)
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Broiled Blood Orange Slices
- 2 blood oranges (cut into 1/8-inch round slices)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Assembly
- 4 tablespoons California Olive Ranch Abequina olive oil
- 2 blood orange wedges (for garnish)
Instructions
Meringues
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at medium high speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugars in a steady stream while the bowl is mixing, and allow it to continue to mix for several minutes until the meringue turns very smooth and shiny. Turn the mixer off an pinch some of the meringue between your fingers. If you can feel the granular sugar bits, mix it for a minute or two more, if you can’t, it’s ready. Add the vanilla, cardamom, and cinnamon and mix until combined.
Distribute the meringue into 4 roughly 8-inch flat discs, making two on each baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the meringues are still on the outside when lightly tapped with the tip of your finger. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and allow it to cool to room temperature over the period of a couple hours (this will help keep it from cracking as much).
Curd
While that’s cooling, you can prepare the curd. In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar for three minutes. Add the blood orange juice, Arbequina olive oil, and blood orange zest and continue whisking the mixture non-stop until the mixture thickens and turns a slightly lighter shade of orange, about 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately take it off of the heat and begin adding the butter to it, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until each piece has melted before adding the next one. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap directly touches the surface of the curd to keep it from developing a film on top, and place it in the refrigerator.
Whipped Cream
Beat the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment at medium high speed until it begins to thicken. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar and vanilla. Continue mixing until it can hold a soft peak. Turn off, cover, and refrigerate.
Broiled Blood Orange Slices
Preheat the oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay the slices flat on a sheet of parchment paper on a lipped baking sheet. Sprinkle them with the sugar. Place in the oven and bake until the edges of the oranges are golden and the sugar has melted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.To assemble the meringue stack, place a meringue on the serving plate. Spread about 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture over it, and spread about 1/4 of the curd mixture over that. Place about 1/3 of the broiled blood orange slices over the curd, and drizzle it with 1 tablespoon of the Arbequina olive oil. Repeat this two more times, so that you now have three layers stacked and the third layer has all the goodies on top of it. Place the final fourth meringue on top, and smear it with a dollop of the curd in the center. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of the Arbequina olive oil over it, then place the two blood orange wedges on top. You can freeze it for an hour or two to make slicing easier, or just dive right in. Enjoy!
Ohhh that is so pretty! I love blood oranges (I type, as I'm drinking my smoothie with blood orange juice) and I love the creativity they give.
You sound so lucky by the way: you get to be in so many different food cultures… I'm a bit jealous!
Thank you so much Vivian!! And yes, I am very lucky to get to try so many different foods from different places. I love learning about the culture around food and dishes and how and why they're served, so interesting (and delicious!)
I've never had a meringue stack, but now I'm thinking I need to!
Highly recommend it! 😀
This recipe looks magical!
Thanks Ben!
Such a pretty pudding. Just what we need to lift us in to Spring.
Thank you dear Elinor!
Aieieiiiiiiii!! I do not like meringue, but these images are making me change my mind! What a beautiful stack of gorgeousness!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Awwwww thanks so much Miranda!! <3
Meringue layered mousse stacks are my absolute favorite way to enjoy meringues, usually with chocolate mousse and salted caramel. But this is so much prettier and more attuned to spring!
Ohhhh chocolate and caramel? You are speaking my language! 😀
Oh my, not sure what I ended up being most fascinated about; your upcoming Spain blog post or these amazing pictures. The vibrant color of the blood orange really stands out. Simply beautiful!
Awwww thanks so much Fernando!! Blood oranges are the prettiest <3
YOwza, Spanish BBQ sounds sooo amazing! I'm wondering if it's similar to Argentinean BBQ…? I grew up with that so if it's similar it has to be amazing. And I love how you gather the most beautiful and bountiful greenery, so pretty!
The Spanish one is centered around this seasonal onion called the calçot, they grill it and then dip it in romesco sauce and it is SO GOOD. Going to try and do it here at home in Oregon sometime, too 🙂
Dear Eva, this looks amazing! Gorgeous photography and styling as always! Have a great time in London and Paris and I like following your adventures on Snapchat! 🙂
Thank yo dear Lili!! I had a wonderful time there and ate an insane amount of good food. And Snapchat is so much fun! I love how laid back and in the moment it is 🙂
Complete lovliness! Your photos are always stunning and your styling unrivaled!
Thank you sweet Tori!! <3
wow. SO artful, in every detail.
Awww thanks so much!!
This is gorgeous and also surely delicious. LOVE meringue. Also–I made some orange meringues a few years ago and added some zest to the egg whites, and it was awesome.
Zest with the whites is the best!!! I just love how versatile citrus fruits are, the flesh, the juice, the zest, it's all so flavorful (and pretty!)
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