The Copenhagen
Years ago, we had a dessert similar to this one at a restaurant that specialized in Scandinavian cuisine. It was like the sophisticated cousin to the traditional ice cream sundae….salty, fudgy, crunchy and creamy. It hit all the taste notes, and I’m pretty sure that dessert was in my dreams that night. Under the description, the dessert said that this was a “traditional Danish dessert” but when I went to search about it online, I couldn’t find it anywhere, and of course the restaurant is no longer in business so I can’t even ask about it! We’ve since tried to recreate it and it’s become a favourite of ours…and that’s how The Copenhagen was born. At least in our home! For all I know, this is a really horrible substitution for the “real thing”, whatever that might be! One day, we’ll be travelling to Denmark and you can be sure I’ll be asking around about this dessert. Scandinavian friends, is this a dessert you’ve had before?
Recipe
The Copenhagen
For the meringues:
4 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp of white vinegar
1 tsp of vanila
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
For the Copenhagen:
almonds, toasted and salted
hot fudge sauce
whipped cream
ice cream
Directions
To make the meringues, preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
In a small cup, combine vanilla and vinegar. In another bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch.
Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites and salt on low, increasing slowly to medium speed until soft peaks start to become visible and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
Increase the speed to medium-high, very slowly sprinkling in the sugar/cornstarch mixture. A few minutes after these ingredients are incorporated, slowly add the vanilla/vinegar mixture. Increase the speed and whip until mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form when you take the whisk out. This will take about 5 minutes. Don’t rush this part! Make sure you take the full 5 minutes and make sure the mixture is quite stiff.
Carefully spread the meringue in 6-8 small round mounds on the parchment. Leave a bit of room between so they don’t touch.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check on the meringues around 50 minutes to make sure they aren’t cracking or turning too brown. The meringues are done when they are a very pale cream colour and the outside is dry and firm. Mine are usually done around the 1 hour mark.
When the meringues look finished, don’t take them out of the oven! Turn off the heat and allow them to cool completely in the oven. Once finished you can remove them from the oven. The outside will be dry and the inside will be marshmallowy. Meringues will store for up to a week in a sealed container.
To make The Copehhagen: assemble a meringue (or two!) with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of whipping cream, a healthy sprinkle of salted almonds, and a drizzle of chocolate fudge sauce. If you want, you can add a sprinkle of kosher salt to the top!
Enjoy!
Meringue method from Smitten Kitchen
