Rifsberjamarengs

Currant meringue

We baked at the weekend, the grandchild and I. The result is this cake with currant meringue. Almost everyone found it very tasty, even those who are not usually particularly fond of cake. Only the grandchild found the currants too sour and just ate cake base with cream.

It is said that currants came to Iceland in the 18th century with Skúli Magnússon (1711 - 1794):

Skúli was born as a pastor's son in northern Iceland, studied in Denmark and returned to Iceland in 1734 as an administrative officer in the service of the Danish king. In 1749, Skúli became the first Icelander to become bailiff of Iceland, i.e. the country's highest administrator. He lived on the island of Viðey for many years and created a garden here with many plants that he had brought with him to Iceland from Denmark, including bush fruits such as currants.

However, the red currants that are now mainly found in Iceland are traced back to a traditional old variety that was brought to Iceland from Norway at the end of the 19th century. The bushes grow well in many Icelandic gardens and are very productive with 6 to 8 kilograms of berries per bush per year.

Ingredients for the soil

200 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

110 g soft butter

2 egg yolks

Ingredients for the egg whites

2 egg whites

100 g white sugar

2 tsp potato flour

150 g currants

Preparation

Knead all the ingredients for the base (flour, baking powder, butter and egg yolk) thoroughly in a bowl...

...then let the dough set in the fridge for about half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 °F (160 °C) upper/lower heat.

Put the cold dough into a springform pan (approx. 24 cm in diameter), press it down thoroughly and, if necessary, prick it in several places with a fork.

Bake in a preheated oven at 325 °F (160 °C) upper and lower heat for about 25 minutes until the base has turned nice and golden brown.

Meanwhile, prepare the egg whites:

In a tall mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the sugar and potato flour until stiff.

Wash and pick the currants and then carefully fold them into the stiff egg whites.

Spread the meringue mixture on the pre-baked cake base.

Set the oven to 400 °F (200 °C) upper and lower heat and bake the cake for about 10 minutes until the egg whites have a nice color.

Take the cake out of the oven, let it cool briefly...

... and then serve with whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit.

[Translated from here.]