Gluten Free Dessert: Spirulina Superfood Meringues with Rose Crystals

Spirulina super food meringue desserts dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with rose sugar crystals. 

I have so many thoughts in my brain right now because I'm so excited about how this recipe turned out. We took one of my favorite desserts (gluten free meringues or schaum tortes) and made them bite sized, infused with spirulina green powder and topped with a floral sugar that doesn't taste like lotion. They're slightly earthy balance with sweet and floral. HELL YEAH. 

Today's recipe post from our January menu meal planning series is the dessert of the bunch. We made a vegan parsnip french fry and kale salad, a tuna avocado bowl and now these crisp and airy bites. . Meringues are nothing new to the blog and definitely not our house. We call larger ones that we top with whipping cream or ice cream and berries in the summer schaum tortes. I usually bring them to whatever dinner party because they look freaking impressive but they're actually easy and also gluten free for those who need it. One time I did that and ended up agreeing to make 100 of them for a wedding for someone who happened to be at the dinner party. Life is crazy. 

Spirulina has been a serious thing in our smoothie life for the past few weeks. We used it for a Kura (client) project with a spirulina smoothie  and tried it and LOVED it. Our go to smoothie has been frozen banana, peanut butter, Kura, cinnamon and spirulina. Anyway, the point being it's just this gorgeous green color with a lightly earthy taste. I figured there had to be a ton of things you can add spirulina to both for the nutrition benefits and the color. 

Spirulina is a blue green algae that's rich in protein, antioxidants as well as vitamin and minerals. Some studies show it helping probiotics flourish and that is SUPER important during winter illness season. Like I mentioned, it has a lightly earthy flavor in my opinion so to balance that out we paired it with rose crystals. I am a huge fan of rose water in cocktails but there are times where rose in a culinary sense can come off in a very 'body lotion' kind of way. It's always tough to find a rose culinary product that works but these little rose crystals are just sugar and rose together. They're not too tough but they do add a nice crunch. A friend of our's described them as 'pop-rock-like'. 

The rose sugar crystals MAKE this recipe. 

Spirulina Superfood Meringues with Rose Crystals 

make approximately 30 small meringues 

/// Ingredients ///

• 2 egg whites

• 2/3 C sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons spirulina powder
• 1/4 cup white melting chocolate
• 1/3 cup rose crystals (get them here) 

/// Directions ///

Wash bowls and whisk attachment thoroughly to remove grease which may prevent egg whites from reaching their full potential. Bring egg whites to room temperature. If you’ve just pulled them out of the fridge, place egg whites in a clean bowl. Place the bowl with egg whites into a bowl filled with warm water. This will speed up the process. Once the egg whites reach room temperature, whisk the egg whites until they become frothy in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.

Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat. As the egg whites increase in volume, add the sugar spoonful by spoonful. 

The egg white mixture will be ready once it looks like thick whipped frosting with stiff peaks. From my experience, it’s a few minutes beyond the very glossy stage. 

Preheat the oven to 250 F. Separate 1/4 of the meringue into a separate bowl. Stir in spirulina powder. Add dollops back to the white meringue mixture and fold together to create streaks or to combine fully (your preference for color). 

Add to a piping bag with a star tip and pipe onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Bake for 30 minutes. When the meringues are finished they will feel dry and crisp. Some may develop hairline cracks up the side.

Melt white chocolate and dip one side of the meringues into the chocolate. Sprinkle immediately with rose crystals. Dry on a plate or cool baking sheet. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Okay wait...one more picture. I love these.