Lavender and fig melange
THIS little dessert is great to make in advance and store in one of those superb little Le Parfait jars (they cost peanuts), because you can seal the lids and pop them in the fridge until you are good to go.
The flavours of this light dessert are heavily influenced by the time I spent working in the South of France.
There, fresh figs were in abundance, along with plentiful fresh, purple lavender flowers and the fragrant lavender honey.
I suppose it’s quite a feminine dessert, with the perfumed qualities of the flowers.
It’s slightly unusual, but a very happy pairing nonetheless.
We sometimes serve this in the Citizens’ Suite on match day, which serves a match day carvery and a huge dessert station.
These pots can easily be placed on the buffet, all sealed up until the guests are ready to ‘pop’ them open.
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 meringue nests (roughly broken into bite sized pieces)
284ml double cream
1 ½ tablespoons lavender honey
4 fresh figs (3 cut into slices and 1 cut in half)
1 teaspoon lavender sugar
Fresh mint to garnish
Method
Whisk the double cream until it reaches the ‘soft peak’ stage, then gently add in the sugar and mix well.
Add the broken up meringues and half of the sliced figs and mix well.
Place some of the meringue and cream mixture into a small Le Parfait jar (or use glasses instead).
Squeeze over a little of the honey, then add some of the fig slices.
Repeat the cream and meringue mixture then top again with more honey and finally top with a fig half.
If you are using the Le Parfait jars you just fasten up the lid and put the jars in the fridge until you are ready to eat them. If you are using glasses, cover with some clingfilm and place in the fridge.
Garnish with a little sprig of fresh mint.
Published: Thu, 28 May, 2009
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