Today would have been my sister’s 56th birthday. Unfortunately she passed away from leukaemia when she was only 14. In her honour my mum made her favourite dessert, and I am sharing her recipe here.
The cookies were originally made for French actress Sarah Bernhardt on a visit to Denmark, and she loved them so much they were named after her.
Sarah Bernhardt meringue cookies
Ingredients
This recipe uses 3 eggs, separated between whites and yolks.
Meringue
3 egg whites, room temperature
210g granulated sugar
½ tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
75g ground walnuts
Buttercream filling
3 egg yolks
200g butter (min 82% fat), room temperature
100g powdered sugar
30g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
½ tsp vanilla essence
Additional
100g ground walnuts for rolling finished cookies in
Method
Meringue
Preheat the oven to 140C.
Using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add the sugar, salt, and lemon juice.
Continue whipping until sugar dissolves.
Add the ground walnuts and fold gently until fully incorporated.
Put the meringue mixture in a piping bag with a plain nozzle.
On a baking tray lined with baking paper, pipe the meringue into 4 cm-sized circles, making sure to leave space between them. If you use more than 1 tray, bake each one separately to ensure the meringue cooks perfectly.
Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-20 mins, leaving the oven door slightly open. This will prevent the meringue from browning.
Transfer meringue shells to a wire rack to cool completely before filling with buttercream.
Buttercream
In a bain-marie, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla essence until the mixture doubles in volume and turns pale yellow.
Add the sifted cocoa and mix until incorporated.
Remove the mixture from the heat and add 1 tbsp of butter, stirring until fully melted. Repeat this with 1 tbsp of butter at a time until you have used up all your butter.
Leave the buttercream to cool completely before using.
Assemble your meringue
Place 1 tsp of the cooled buttercream between 2 meringue shells (like a sandwich) then roll in the ground walnuts so you coat the middle part.
Enjoy!
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