Orange Granita

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Mmmm…my first encounter with granita…that was something truly amazing.

It happened during my vacation in Italy a couple of years ago.

Oh, I will never forget that moment.

Actually, I was spending the holiday with my sister and her family then. One lovely morning we decided to have a proper look at the village we were staying in…so – under the burning Italian sun – we walked every street, saw every sight and met ever person possible.

Phew!

My feet still get depressed when they remember that.

After a couple of hours, as knackered as people can get, we decided to relax in a cute café sitting on top of a hill and offering a magnificent sea view.

And GRANITA.

First of all, the cup I was given amazed me with its wonderfully colorful content.

And then…wow…that first mouthful…OH, THAT FIRST MOUTHFUL…it was the most refreshing,  invigorating and memorable dessert in my whole life.

During all the years that followed, just until recently, I hadn’t even dared to think I could prepare that delectable treat at home (you know, they make it in those big ‘freezing-and-mixing’ tanks).

But now the things have changed.

And you know what?

Granita might be the simplest and easiest dessert there is.

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THESE are the ingredients!

1. First, pour the juice into a saucepan and place it over medium-low heat.
2. Add the sugar and stir.

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3. Add the lemon juice and continue stirring just until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Remove from heat.

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5. Then find a larger (4 cup – 1 liter) ‘freezer-friendly’ container and pour the mixture in.
6. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and put in your freezer.

orange granita recipe with step-by-step images, orange slushie recipe, how to serve orange granita

7. After about 2 hours into the freezing process, remove the container from the freezer and move the liquid around with a fork, breaking the forming crystal structure. Put back in the freezer.
8. Repeat this process about 3 more times (every 2 hours). Then let freeze for as long as you wish.

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This is what I got after leaving the mixture in the freezer overnight.

Wonderful granita!

See? It’s doubled in volume.

orange granita recipe with step-by-step images, orange slushie recipe, how to serve orange granita

To serve the orange granita, you can use some fresh oranges. Just cut an orange in half and, using a spoon, remove its flesh. Let freeze for a couple of hours. That way you’ll get a nice, cooling and impressive bowl.

Enjoy, dear friends.

Meringues With Coffee Filling

Let me introduce my most favorite cookies to you – if these can be called cookies.

I’d rather call them ‘wondrous sensations of supernatural origin’.

Yeah!

That’s what I’d call them.

Oh, and there’s a confession I have to make regarding me and my relation to these gems.

Frankly, I have been addicted to meringues for about 29 years.

Okay, not exactly 29, I was probably fed milk for the first year of my life.

So let’s say – for 28 years.

My love for these beauties was so strong that I learned how to make them early in my life. It just became too life-threatening to rely on a store and whether they had them or not.

Well, I guess this all pretty much explains how gorgeous they are.

SO LET’S MAKE THEM!

These are the ingredients.

I recommend using very fresh eggs.

1. Separate egg yolks from whites.

2. Pour 1 1/2 cup (170 grams) sugar into the bowl with the egg whites.

3. Mix with a whisk until incorporated.

4. Then pour a little water into a medium pot.

Place the pot on a stove, heat it up and let simmer – because we need steam now.

5. Place the bowl with the egg whites over the pot with simmering water and using a hand mixer, whisk the mixture on slow speed for about 15 minutes.

(If we placed the egg whites over direct heat they would turn into scrambled egg whites… and we don’t want that to happen.)

6. Remove from heat.

This is what we are going for – soft peaks.

Now, try to find a piping tip that resembles this one.

7. Fill the piping bag (or whatever you use for piping) with the egg-white mixture.

8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

9. And start piping. I have achieved this shape by creating 4 small heaps very close to each other – so that they are touching each other.

10. Preheat the oven to (only!) 266 F (130 C).

11. Place the sheet into the oven, bake at 266 F (130 C) for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 212 F (100 C) and bake for 50 minutes.

12. Rotate the sheet halfway through the baking period.

13. Meanwhile, mix the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar.

14. Using a hand mixer again, whisk them over the pot of simmering water for about 15 minutes.

15. Remove from heat.

16. Add the cocoa and coffee and mix just until incorporated.

17. Let cool completely, then add the butter and mix again until well combined and smooth.

18. Remove the cookie shells from the oven and let cool.

19. Fill the piping bag with the coffee filling and – using the same piping tip as for the shells – pipe the mixture onto a shell.

20. Now place another shell onto the filling – both shells have flat sides facing down.

And that’s it.

Easy, right?

And yummy… mmmmmmmmmmm.

Enjoy, dear friends!

And now let’s all sing in unison this world-famous song:

Thank you for the music sugar, the cookies we’re eating
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without sugar or a cookie what are we?
So I say thank you for the sugar
for giving it to me…’

Thank you!

(This recipe makes about 16 cookies – it vastly depends on how much licking is involved in the whole process.)

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