“On my Midsummer table you’ll be sure to find the traditional herring and fresh new potatoes tossed with sour cream, chives, egg and browned butter. Another must-have is a quiche made with Swedish cheese (Västerbotten) and a fresh salad with seasonal ingredients like radishes, spring onions and green asparagus.”
This is how Emma wants to celebrate her midsummer, and what it sounds like when Emma together with Marion Ringborg from Garba and Mikkel Karstad from NOMA are interviewed and portrayed by Vogue Scandinavia. Emma gets her love for Nordic classics from her grandmother’s kitchen in Boxholm, but likes to use inspiration, ingredients, and spices from other cultures and these are expressed in the recipe that our dear chef Emma chooses to share.
“Instead of a strawberry sponge cake with cream, I like to make a meringue topped with crème pâtissière, strawberries and fragrant elderflowers. Usually the first strawberries are here by Midsummer and also the fresh new potatoes that I’ve been longing for. This is my favourite time of the year, when all the fresh greens are popping up.”
Meringue Cake with crème pâtissière
For the meringue:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 400g sugar
For the crème pâtissière
- 500ml milk
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds removed
- 100g sugar
- 120g egg yolk
- 35g corn flour
- 250g heavy cream
- 500g strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 125 degrees. Whip the egg whites, vinegar and 100g of sugar until just fluffy. Gradually add the rest of the sugar whilst continuing to whip until it begins to form stiff peaks.
- Line an oven tray with baking paper. Add the meringue to the baking paper and spread to form a high 20-inch circle. Bake for 2 hours, then turn off the oven and leave the meringue to dry.
- Whilst the meringue is drying, make the crème pattiserie. In a saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla to boil. Combine the sugar, egg yolk and corn flour in a large bowl. Pour the milk over the egg mix and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to the boil for 5 minutes. Strain through a sieve and leave to cool.
- Once the mixture is cool, whip the heavy cream and fold into the cooled egg mix using a spatula. Spoon over the top of the meringue and decorate with strawberries and edible flowers.
Enjoy!