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Apple Meringue Surprise

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Apple Surprise DessertOkay, I’ll fess up.  I named it apple meringue surprise because it didn’t have a name.  I thought about Apples Maureen but I figured that was a bit over the top and it IS a surprise that custard is on the bottom.

I love stewed apples.  I love vanilla bean custard.  I also love meringue on anything.  Last week I saw a recipe from  Fab Food 4 All in England who’d had some egg whites to use up and made meringue and used it to cover some stewed apples.  I thought it looked pretty good but for me, it needed something.

Vanilla Bean Custard

That something was custard.

I peeled the apples (making sure to whiz the peel and core for the worms) and sliced them thickly and stewed them with a bit of lemon juice and water for 20 minutes.  Then I added the sugar and cooked til soft.  I used the apples in the fridge but a nice apple that doesn’t fall apart would be good for this.

Stewed Apples

While the apples were gently cooking, I made the custard.  I cheated and used the Thermomix.  90C for 7 minutes on speed 4.  While that was cooking I made the meringue from the egg whites left over from the ice cream mix I’d made earlier.

Meringue

I took small ramekins and filled the bottom with custard, spooned over the cooled apples and topped with meringue.  In the oven they went for 15 minutes and voilà! (or wa la as I saw on a blog earlier)

Apple Surprise

You’ll notice from the photos, there are differing amounts of meringue on each dessert.  John doesn’t like much meringue at all.  Rob is pretty average and I’m the one with it piled on.  I figure if you’re going to have meringue, have enough that you don’t want any more for a while.

Apple Surprise

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Apple Surprise
 
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This is an easy way to use up extra egg whites in a yummy dessert and it's also gluten free.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian
Serves: 8
Ingredients
Stewed Apples
  • 4 large apples, peeled and thickly sliced (5 medium)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon water
Vanilla Bean Custard
  • 100 grams sugar
  • 30 grams corn flour (cornstarch) (use gluten free if you need to)
  • 500 grams full cream milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or scrape 1 vanilla bean
  • 2 eggs
Meringue
  • 3 egg whites - room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup of caster (superfine) sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Stewed Apples
  1. Place apple slices in a saucepan with the lemon juice and water on low heat.
  2. Stir occasionally until the apple slices are nearly soft.
  3. Add sugar and finish cooking.
  4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Vanilla Custard - Thermomix Method (You can also use vanilla pudding from a box)
  1. Add sugar and corn flour and whiz for a few seconds on speed 9.
  2. Add all other ingredients and cook at 90C for 7 minutes on speed 4.
  3. Pour into dishes or ramekins and set aside to cool. (they'll get a little skin that will hold up the apples.
Meringue
  1. Place egg whites and pinch of salt in a mixing bowl and beat on low speed until frothy.
  2. Add cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until the egg whites turn opaque. It won't take long. You don't want to get to soft peak stage.
  3. While continuing to beat, add the caster sugar one teaspoon at a time.
  4. When half of the sugar has been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and slowly add the remaining sugar.
  5. Add vanilla extract and keep beating until the sugar has dissolved.
  6. When finished you should be able to pick up the beaters and turn them upside down and the meringue stands up.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 190C/375F
  2. Spoon the stewed apples over the vanilla custard
  3. Add the meringue over the apples and seal to the side of the dish. You can swirl or make peaks - whatever you like.
  4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. Chill before serving.
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I think next time I’d use glass dishes so all the layers would show.  I didn’t have enough matching custard cups so I used these.

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Comments

  1. G’day and HOW gorgeous your photo is enticing me right now Maureen, true!
    I love Meringue but my success rate despite easy to do is less than 100%; know all the hints and tips too! 🙂
    Cheers! Joanne

    Reply

    • It was good too! I felt like Goldilocks when I said, “Baby meringue for you, Regular meringue for you and BIG meringue for me.” They both rolled their eyes.

      Reply

    • Okay, another one who likes John’s portion. 🙂 Thanks for coming by! I do like portioning the desserts out, especially if it makes more than we can eat in one sitting. Otherwise it looks ratty and then I end up tossing it out.

      Reply

  7. We all have apple on our minds, it’s the perfect fall fruit. I recently made a Normandy Apple start that had a custard base (with brown butter almonds) and the combo was perfect. I too love meringue.

    Reply

    • I know, Amy, but I must confess that I live in Australia and it’s Spring. I’m American too and when October hits, it’s apples, pumpkin and pecans. I can’t help myself.

      Reply

  11. What a great dessert. And we often do have extra egg whites, so this one is a keeper. I can never ay no to meringue. Love the wa la! 😉 And I don’t think Apples Maureen is over the top at all. 😉

    Reply

  13. What a sweet, creative, pretty ‘Apple surprise’ !
    I always copycat my Mom’s and grandma’s recipes, but I believe this time its gonna be YOU 🙂 Thanks for the surprisingly cute and easy fun recipe.
    Hugs.

    Reply

  15. LOVE IT! So creative and such a special little bundle of seasonal joy! Well – for my side of the world as the most gorgeous apples are just in from the fields over here. Love your ingenuity. And that you have included instructions for how to make this in the Thermomix for those of us that have them.
    Big hug,
    V

    Reply

    • I figure most people without a Thermomix will buy their custard/pudding from a box. I would. 🙂 Maybe if more people see how easy it is to use, they’ll want one too, Valerie.

      Reply

  22. My success rate with Meringue is pretty sketchy too. However, your Apple Clouds look so delightful, I may just need to give meringue a chance:) What kind of apples would you suggest, Maureen?

    Thank you so much for sharing, Maureen…

    Reply

    • I will admit I wasn’t too sure when tasting it in my head. (it’s what we all do, right?) But after the first spoonful and the smile on John’s face, I knew it was good.

      Reply

  28. You saw, ‘Wa La’ on a blog? Too funny! I love your ramekins, Maureen. And like you, I like a high pile of meringue. When my MIL makes a pavlova it’s half a cm high. She spreads that meringue so thin it’s like a pie crust. The way you pile it up is definitely preferable xx

    Reply

    • LOL, yeah, I saw that on a blog and it took me a minute or two to figure out what she was trying to say with Wa La! John doesn’t like much meringue so his was barely smeared on for looks. 🙂

      Reply

  32. As the majority here, I’d go for big pile of meringue, you can never have too much of it in my humble opinion. Love love the photos Maureen 🙂

    Reply

  34. I’ve always wondered what to do with leftover egg whites- what a good idea! ‘Apple Surprise’- reminds me of Julia Childs’ Veau en Surprise dish that she did for her Cordon Bleu Final Exam- but her SURPRISE was the ingredients being placed inside a brown paper bag (not very elegant)!

    Reply

  36. I love meringue on anything too Maureen. This sounds just like the type of dessert I would love and mine would be just like yours! The stewed apples sound like a rather nice treat on their own with a little cream. Hmm I think I know what I’m having for dessert tonight.

    Reply

  37. WOW! What a great treat! Custard and stewed, sweet apples sounds great and then you went and added the meringue. Fabulous! Great creation Maureen!

    Reply

  38. Hi Maureen. Love the name…and like you, I love all of those delicious components. Loved seeing yours topped mile-high with meringue! Thank you for sharing. This looks too delicious!

    Reply

  39. I love these Maureen, I’m with you the more meringue the better. You should have called them apples Maureen for sure. Hope you are feeling better x

    Reply

  41. Maureen, custard sounds like a wonderful surprise at the bottom of this delectable dessert. Count me in for extra meringue, too! Recipes with “surprise” in the name always make me smile (and a bit skeptical), but I’d have no qualms trying your creation. “Wa la” indeed. 😉

    Reply

  42. Oh MY Dear Maureen, I love, love, love meringue!!! If only I didn’t live a “million” miles away…..
    This looks wonderful.
    I hope that you are feeling better. I keep you in my prayers.
    Blessings and a hug, Catherine xo

    Reply

    • John has asked me to make it again. I told him he’d have to wait til it was time to make more ice cream so I’d have egg whites that needed to be used. 🙂

      Reply

  48. Wow, I just got this pingback to my blog 4 years on, that’s technology for you! Anyhow, I think this is a fabulous idea, thanks for linking back to my original recipe:-)

    Reply

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