Strawberry Meringue Sundae

During high school, I worked as a waitress at a restaurant where a strawberry meringue sundae was a popular dessert on the menu. I used to see the delight on customers’ faces while consuming it. Recently I was thinking about a new dessert recipe to write about. Suddenly, I remembered this dessert and decided to recreate it. And I am delighted to say that I’ve nailed it! It tastes just as delicious as it did 35 years ago at the Cranberry Hall Restaurant in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. Sadly, the restaurant no longer exists, but this dessert can still live on.

Meringues are easy to make and can be stored in the freezer for future use. You can leave them out to defrost while eating dinner and serve them when you’re ready for dessert. The meringue is made with egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. The key to making perfect meringue is to whip it well with the whisk attachment. The strawberry sundae sauce is also simple to make and can be stored in the refrigerator in advance. When making meringue, it is critical to ensure that the mixing bowl and whisk attachment are thoroughly cleaned. Any grease leftover from previous uses can prevent the meringue from achieving the desired stiff peaks required for the recipe.

To begin, line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Many recipes suggest drawing circles on the paper to make the meringue uniformly sized. However, I didn’t do this, they came out just fine. As soon as you top them with ice cream, sauce, and whipped topping, nobody will notice if they don’t have the same size.

While the meringues are baking, you can make the strawberry sundae topping. You wash and dice fresh ripe strawberries. Bring them to a boil with some sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside and allow to cool. This can be stored in the refrigerator. To assemble the sundaes, place a meringue on a plate. Add a scoop of ice cream, I use French vanilla but you can use any flavor you prefer. Add a few scoops of the strawberry sauce to the ice cream and allow it to drip down onto the meringue. Top with some whipped cream for the perfect, fancy-looking dessert.