Meringue topped mango-pineapple sherbet is a tropical frozen dessert. It is easy to make and deliciously refreshing to eat!

Super fast Mango-Pineapple Sherbet with Meringue “Clouds”

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving home from church. It was the morning after the last of of our big “Winter Storms”. The clouds were big and puffy, and all around me.

May clouds, Pasadena – 5-2011

You know what clouds look like after a storm? Big and fluffy, a little grey around the bottom, slightly threatening? Well, we don’t get many really “good” clouds in California, so the sight of them there, right in front of me, got my heart racing a bit. I pulled into the driveway, jumped out of the car and skittered into the house. Spencer, who was edging the lawn, looked up. I didn’t bother to turn off the car, I just ran into the house to grab my camera. “Where are you going?”, he asked me as I hopped back into the car. “Clouds, clouds…I’ve to photograph the clouds!” I don’t know if he just knows me too well, or if he just thinks I’m nuts, but he just shook his head and went back to the gardening.

April 2011-Desert storm clouds- iPhone

Driving West, all I could see were trees. Trees, trees, trees…Damn trees! A little more North, a little more West? Why couldn’t I get good glimpse of those Clouds? You know how Clouds are? Fickle. One minute, big, puffy and fluffy…next minute, the wind kicks up and poof!…gone! No matter  where I went, which way I drove, my view was obstructed. I really needed to get a good view.

Sierra Nevada – July, 2011 storm clouds – iPhone

Ah! Higher, higher! I needed to drive higher so I could photograph them without the obstruction of power lines, branches and buildings. And so I went, a little more East, a little bit North, until I could go no further North on Lake Street.

I was Chasing the Clouds…and they were out-running me. I was Cloud Chasing, but I’d left the house in such a hurry, that I’d completely forgotten to change into my Cloud Chasing clothes! So there I was, 4″ heels and a pencil skirt, unable to climb on to the car to get a better shot of the clouds, without considerable damage to either the skirt or the shoes. So, I began to drive home a little East, a lot more South. And then I realized I was dangerously close to being pulled over.

Stopped. Why? I was driving slowly…one eye on the road, one eye on the clouds. Stopping, slowing, hemming, hawing. And then I thought about what would happened if I’d been pulled over?

“Ma’am, you know why I’ve pulled you over?”

“Uh, no sir, why?”, I would say.

“You were driving erratically, weaving.”

What would my excuse have been? Driving under the influence of clouds? I felt a bit defeated. I’d driven 7 miles and on top of that, I’d brought the wrong lens…better luck next storm. As I drove South, down Lake and then East on Orange Grove, and finally back on to my street, I stopped the car. There in front of me, to the East, were perfect, fluffy unobstructed clouds, so I pulled into my driveway and took the picture. I’d been so busy looking ahead, I’d never bothered to look behind me.

March 18, 2012- Pasadena clouds

When I was thinking about what food reminded me of clouds, all I could think about was meringue.

Meringues are light and melt on your tongue, no chewing necessary. I started making meringue in high school. There was a bakery across the street from where I lived that sold big meringues for $1. I knew that there were only two ingredients in them, egg whites and sugar. And I knew I could probably make them at home, so I did. Often.

To go with the meringue cookies, I found a recipe for Super-Fast Sherbet, using frozen fruit chunks and yogurt, so I tweaked it a bit. I added a bit of moscato dessert wine to help retard the freezing process, which prevents the sherbet from becoming too icy if left to freeze overnight. I added some honey as well, to pair with the honey tones of the dessert wine. You could switch the fruits and alcohol and make your own flavors.

I tried to make my meringues look like little clouds.

Enjoy the meringue topped tropical sherbet!

Print

Meringue Topped Tropical Sherbet

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

2 mins

Total Time

32 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Cynthia McCloud Woodman

Ingredients

• 1 12 ounce bag of frozen mango chunks
• 2 cups of frozen pineapple chunks
• 6 ounce carton flavored yogurt I used pineapple, but you can use whatever flavor you want.
• 3 tablespoons alcohol I used muscato, but you can use Grand Marnier, vodka, whatever you want.
• Soften fruit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
• Puree fruit alcohol and yogurt in food processor until smooth.
• Serve at once for soft-serve texture or freeze and hour or so for a firmer texture.
• For the Meringues
• 6 egg whites bring to room temperature for best results.
• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. 
   For the Sherbet
2. Soften fruit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
3. Puree fruit, alcohol and yogurt in food processor until smooth.
4. Serve at once for soft-serve texture or freeze and hour or so for a firmer texture.
5. 
   For the Meringues
6. Pre-heat oven to 200*, line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat, (silicone baking sheet). That's what I use.
7. In a clean grease free mixing bowl, whip white on low speed until foamy.
8. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla and continue whipping about 8 minutes or so, the whites should begin to have soft peaks.
9. Gradually add sugar, a few teaspoons at a time and continue beating until the whites are stiff and shiny like satin.
10. Either use a pastry bag to pipe out shapes or drop by tablespoons on prepared sheets.
11. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours at 200* with oven door slightly ajar.
12. When they are done, they will be crispy and light and will be easily removed from the cookie sheet.
13. The amount you make depends on the size, you can make big giant meringues or little button sized meringues. Store in an airtight container. They do not need to be refrigerated.

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