Cappuccino Upturn - video available

Ingredients (they are listed per portion; in the video preparations are done for two):

1 egg

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup milk

2 cardamon buds

fresh ginger, garlic-clove-size piece

1 tablespoon honey

1 dessertspoon agar agar

1 espresso

Procedure:

Macerate the cardamon in the milk on very low heat.

Separate the egg(s) and add the honey to the yolk. Squeeze the ginger (with a garlic-press) above the egg-white and add the sugar. Beat the white till stiff and arrange fake foam tops on baking-paper. Bake them in the oven at appr.110° C or 225° F; keep the door slightly open. They should be done in about an hour.

Dissolve the agar agar in the warm milk. Stir well and bring to the boil. As soon as the first bubbles appear, take off the heat. Keep stirring and add the espresso. Mix the yolk with the honey and integrate it with the coffee-mixture. The best way to do this is to start combining a couple of spoons of the cappuccino in the yolk, and then to mix this concoction through the mocca. Pour the mixture in the moulds or coffee-cups of your choice and chill.

When your coffee-puddings are set, remove them from the cups by separating them from the edge with a knife first, and easing them out after. Ease the meringues off the baking-paper carefully.

Finish your cappuccino upturn with the fake foam only right efore serving, or the moisture of the pudding will ruin your crispy meringue.

Comments:

I like to play with the (un)expected in my cooking. That's why I chose to find a presentation of cappuccino with a different texture and temperature. I suggested little honey to sweeten the pudding, but if that 'bitter cold' is too much for you, you can add a double or triple amount of it. The topping of ginger meringue is not only a visual joke, but it's also intended as an added excitement in textures. I tried to tie the two parts of the dessert together by combining two fragrances that we are used to taste together, but in another culinary context. I hope it works for you too, but a number of different combinations comes to my mind that might make you happier. You could add a spoon of cocoa to the coffee and juxtapose it with some pinenuts or chopped almonds in the meringue. Or you could add a spoon of brandy to the pudding and balance it with a whiff of nutmeg in the topping.

The single eggwhite will make more than a portion of meringue, so feel free to experiment, but I wouldn't squeeze too many flavors in a single dish.