Ruby Krembo
In the past few weeks I’ve been going through krembo fever like it’s the middle of winter. Since I started making krembo (crembo) from Swiss meringue instead of Italian meringue, it became more fun to make them and safely serve them to the people I love. Like my sister, who didn’t feel well last week and was stuck at home. I made her a ruby krembo from lemon and raspberry, so pink and sweet and fruity.
The only raspberry known in my family is raspberry juice. I discovered the fruit itself only when I dived into culinary baking. I fell in love deeply. When I served my sister a ruby krembo she twitched her nose. “I’m not sure if I like raspberry,” she said. After we based the fact that she like raspberry juice and strawberries also, she took a bite and her face lit up. “This is so tasty!” she claimed. I agree.
Ruby krembo is based on a lemon krembo I made once upon a time with Italian meringue. A slightly sour krembo with a lemony core inspired by a lemon meringue tart. This time too I added lemon juice to the meringue and even lemon zest to the cookie. The lemony core I replaced with a fresh raspberry that works perfectly with the fruity ruby chocolate coating.
Ingredients
Cookie
200 g flour
100 g powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
Zest from 1 lemon
80 g cold butter (cut into cubes)
40 g egg yolk
10 g water
Swiss meringue
100 g egg whites
180 g sugar
Pinch of salt
10 g lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
½ tsp vanilla paste
Core
fresh raspberries
Coating
200 g ruby chocolate
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Equipment
Round cookie cutter, 5.5 cm diameter
A pastry bag fitted with a 16 mm smooth tip
The recipe makes about 13 ruby krembo
Cookie
Put flour, powdered sugar, salt, lemon zest and butter cubes in the mixer bowl and keep in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Remove from fridge. Using the paddle attachment, start mixing at low-medium speed until the batter reaches sand-like consistency. Make sure the butter chunks are as small as possible at the end of the process without melting the butter.
Add egg yolk and water all at once and keep mixing at medium speed until the dough starts to form but is not yet completely uniform. Remove dough parts from the bowl and combine together. Place the dough on parchment paper. Flatten the dough a little bit and lay another parchment paper on top.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin between the two parchment papers to a 3-4 mm thickness. Keep turning the dough throughout. Place the dough with the parchment papers on a tray. Keep in the fridge for at least an hour.
When the dough is stiff and cold, remove the parchment papers and place the dough back on one of the papers. In a cool room, using a 5.5 cm round cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough.
Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, each circle 2 cm apart (they don’t expand much during baking). Keep in the freezer for about 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 175 ºC /345 ºF in the meantime.
Please note (!) If at any point the dough starts to soften, put it back in the fridge until it is stiff again.
Remove the cookies from the freezer and transfer them to another baking tray. Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 12-14 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature.
Swiss meringue
Put egg whites, sugar and salt in a stainless steel bowl and whisk well. Warm the mixture on a double boiler (medium heat) while whisking all along to melt the sugar and pasteurize the egg whites.
Once the temperature reaches 60 ºC /140 ºF, lower the flame and keep whisking for about 5 more minutes (OR bring the temperature to 70 ºC /160 ºF and whisk for 1 minute).
Make sure the temperature doesn’t pass 75 ºC /165 ºF. (I just lower or turn off the flame accordingly and keep the temperature between 60-70 ºC /140-160 ºF).
Remove from heat and strain immediately into the mixer bowl. Add lemon juice and vanilla. Whip the mixture on maximum speed for about 5 minutes until the meringue is stable and shiny (stiff peaks).
Fit a pastry bag with a 16 mm smooth tip and fill it with the meringue. Holding the pastry bag vertically, pipe on layer of meringue in the center of each cookie.
Place a raspberry in the center of each meringue and push it down a bit. Pipe the next two layers on top of it to form 3 layers of meringue.
Keep in the freezer for about half an hour before coating.
Coating
Melt ruby chocolate on a double boiler. Add vegetable oil and mix. Transfer the melted chocolate to a narrow cup. Dip each krembo in the chocolate while it’s warm (to get a thin layer of coating).
Let the excess chocolate drip back into the cup and set the krembo aside. Keep the krembo in the fridge for at least half an hour until the coating sets.
Keep it in an airtight container for about 2 days (or even more in the freezer, just let it thaw a little before you take a bite).
