A floral and refreshing dessert where sorbet meets meringue, creating a striking contrast of temperatures and vibrant colors.
Makes at least 8 small or 1 big Baked Alaska
Beetroot sorbet (makes 1l):
550ml water
225ml beetroot juice
80g glucose
5g citric acid
a pinch of salt
160g sugar
4g yellow pectin
3g ice cream stabilizer
Beetroot cake (makes 32cm x 42cm):
80g hazelnut oil (or any other vegetable oil)
80g beetroot juice
20g cocoa powder
15g + 50g plain flour
4 eggs
20g + 110g sugar
a pinch of salt
Beetroot meringue (makes 300g):
70g beetroot juice
200g sugar
100g egg whites (3-4 eggs)
4g citric acid
For the beetroot sorbet:
01 Heat water, beetroot juice, glucose syrup, citric acid, and salt to 40°C.
02 Mix sugar with yellow pectin and stabilizer, then add it to the sorbet base and heat to 83°C-85°C. Blend it with an immersion blender.
03 Cool it down to 5°C and churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
For the beetroot cake:
01 Preheat oven to 140°C fan.
02 Whisk hazelnut oil with beetroot juice, add cacao, 15g of flour and heat gently until it darkens and thickens something like pâte à choux. If you heat it too hot, the oil will split out, but it will come back together later, no worries.
03 Cool it down for a few minutes, add egg yolks, sugar, salt and mix it until smooth.
04 Whisk egg whites on high speed for 30 seconds. Then, for the next 30 seconds, slowly add the remaining 110g of sugar. Turn the mixer to medium and whisk for 6-8 minutes until a glossy, dense, yet flexible meringue forms.
05 With a spatula, fold a third of meringue to the beetroot base, you might lose some of the airness, but that's completely fine. Then, gently fold in the rest of the meringue in a few batches until you have very airy, mousse-like base.
06 Bake it for around 25 minutes in a tray lined with parchement paper until risen and dry to the touch. Cool it down and cut circles with a cookie cutter or a glass.
For the beetroot meringue:
01 Heat beetroot juice, sugar and citric acid to 118°C.
02 Just before syrup reaches 118°C, whip egg whites on high speed until somewhat foamy. Then, turn the speed down and slowly drizzle the hot beetroot syrup. Turn up the speed and whip on a medium speed for 7-10 minutes until stiff and shiny meringue forms.
03 Put the meringue into a piping bag.
To finish:
01 Scoop the beetroot sorbet, put onto the beetroot cake base, pipe the meringue around, torch, and serve immediately. Heat your knife with a blowtorch before cuting.
