Meringue Trifle

Ingredients

Meringue

4 egg whites
pinch cream of tartar
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
1 tsp (2 mL) vanilla

Custard Sauce

1 cup (250 mL) sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) all purpose flour
dash salt
3 cups (750 mL) milk
4 egg yolks
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla

Layers

3 tbsp (45 mL) orange liqueur (optional)
1 cup (250 mL) whipped cream
3  1 oz (28 g) squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
3 large bananas

Directions

Preheat oven to 120 o C (250 o F).

Meringue:

In a bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar; continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spoon mixture onto foil-lined baking sheet and spread evenly over pan. Bake 2 hours. Cool.

Custard Sauce:

In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool. Assembling Layers: Fold orange liqueur, if using, into whipped cream. Fold half of the whipped cream into the custard. In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cut bananas into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices. Spoon half of the custard into a 10 cup (2.5 L) serving bowl. Break meringue into pieces, about 1 - 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) in size. Spread half of the meringue pieces over custard and drizzle with one third of the chocolate. Cover with half of the bananas. Repeat with layers of custard, meringue pieces, chocolate and bananas. Top with whipped cream and meringue crumbs, then remaining chocolate. Decorate with additional banana slices if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes: 8 servings

Preparation: 15 minutes

Baking: 2 hours

Nutrients per serving:

Calories: 506
Protein: 8.2 g
Carbohydrate: 76.7 g
Fat: 20.3 g