Hazelnut Meringue Ice Cream

17/11/2023

Hazelnut meringue ice cream is a delicious dessert that combines the crunch of meringues with the creaminess of ice cream. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients

3 medium-sized meringues, store-bought or homemade
500 ml hazelnut ice cream
100 g toasted hazelnuts
200 ml fresh whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

If you don’t have ready-made meringues, you can start by making them yourself. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, gradually adding granulated sugar until you obtain a glossy and fluffy mixture. Then, spoon it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 90 °C for about 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp.
While the meringues are baking or cooling, toast the hazelnuts in a non-stick pan until golden and fragrant. Let them cool, then roughly chop them.
Whip the chilled cream with the powdered sugar until it reaches a firm yet soft consistency.
Set aside a few chopped hazelnuts for the final decoration and mix the rest with the softened hazelnut ice cream.
Crumble the meringues into pieces that aren’t too small and gently fold them into the hazelnut ice cream mixture.
In a dessert bowl or suitable container, layer the crumbled meringue and hazelnut ice cream until all ingredients are used.
Top with the whipped cream and decorate with the reserved chopped hazelnuts.
Place the meringue ice cream in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.

Once ready, I recommend slicing the hazelnut meringue ice cream and serving it immediately, perhaps accompanied by a chocolate sauce for an extra touch of flavor.

Trivia

Meringue, with its typical white appearance and airy, light texture, is often associated with French and Swiss cuisine, but not everyone knows that the earliest documents attesting to its existence come from the Italian city of Lecce. Pair it with hazelnut ice cream, typical of Piedmont, and you’ll have a dessert that embraces and celebrates various Italian culinary traditions.