leche meringada
Our friend Bernat introduced us to this old fashioned Spanish dessert. It is delicious and refreshing without being too sweet. Milk is flavored with lemon zest, cinnamon, and a little sugar before freezing. You can freeze the mixture in an icecream machine if you have one, or like a granita: place in a dish in the freezer and stir with a fork every hour or so to make a slushy crystalized frozen treat.
LECHE MERINGADA
1 quart whole milk
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemon peel, removed from lemon with a vegetable peeler
4 egg whites
Ground cinnamon for garnish
Combine the milk, 1 1/4 cups sugar, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a pot and bring just to a simmer. Set aside for 1 hour to infuse the flavors. Strain the milk and cool in the refrigerator.
Once the milk has cooled whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and whip until the eggwhites form soft peaks when the whisk is lifted. Whisk in the aromatic milk.
You can freeze this mixture in an ice cream machine if you have one, or in a pan in the freezer. A metal pan will work well since it is a good conductor of cold. Once the edges start to set stir with a fork every 30-60 minutes, until the mixture is thoroughly frozen.
In Spain this is traditionally served garnished with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or the twist of lemon peel but we served ours with fresh berries.
FOOD
Reader Comments (3)
Do you think this could be made with non-dairy alternatives? It looks like a delicious simple dessert.
I'm new to your blog but am enjoying going through your archives and reading all your wonderful posts. Found you through the Purlbee!
Thank you, Viv!
Sarah, I do not have much experience with non-dairy alternatives, but I would certainly try it...maybe just a small batch so you don't waste a whole quart! My suspicion is that you may want to adjust the sugar since I know some non-dairy substitutes can be sweet on their own.