Strawberry Crowned Egg

I hope you are not sick of desserts as of now....I've been posting so many desserts lately because these are what we ate for the past few days. There's a big project due on Monday so we practicaly live on desserts and Aaron's takeaway from his workplace.

When I made Zebra cake, I specifically cracked the eggshells nicely so I could save them for later use. I didn't have much thought back then on what to do with the eggshells. All I know was I want a dessert using these eggshells as vessels. Something creamy and filling, given the small vessel size.

And I definitely want something to do with pomegranate as well simply because they're in season and if you don't already know, November is National Pomegranate Month and I don't see them often here in Australia on normal days.

I like how these little red rubies lift up my dishes, in terms of appearance and taste. You can actually use it in savoury dishes, scatter it over your pumpkin soup with prosciutto crumbles and even use these to make gnocchi! There are endless possibillities when it comes to pomegranate.

Aaron hates munching on the seeds and because I make desserts specifically for us, I probably will not buy pomegranate much. Instead, I'll go for POM juice if I need a quick fix. They give out a deep, vibrant red in dishes and frozen treats. This post is not all about pomegranate, really....


Fancy some smooth sabayon custard, full of vanilla bean speckles and flavoured with Marsala, filled in petite egg vessels, each crowned with strawberry slices? I usually snarled in disgust when I see people add gelatine to tiramisu or zagalione/sabayon cream simply because I think it spoils the texture and all gelatine does is to make it stay in shape when sliced. For things like tiramisu, I like how mine look sloppy and deformed when sliced, else I'll make them in verrines form when I want a neat presentations.

However, for this one time, I swear by the use of gelatine. I added gelatine to my sabayon cream, sorry....but Aaron wanted something more firm when you peel the eggshells, the custard remain as whole egg shape. The gelatine is really optional. You can choose to not add it in and serve it straight with a spoon. However, if you like to still add it in and like it soft and creamy, like in my situation now (can never please everyone really, can you??? * roll eyes), eat it when it's just chilled slightly, before the gelatine takeover and solidify it.


I topped some with pomegranate seeds for myself and strawberries for Aaron but at last, I realize he dislike strawberries too! I know he dislike them so I try to find ways to sneak some into his daily intakes. Raw strawberries or visible ones are a big no no. Panna cotta, blended, pureed, strawberry soup, yes. How weird can my hot chocolate be?


Preliminary work for eggshells:
Boil the eggshells in a pot for approximately 3 minutes or so. Turn off the heat and run drain them. Run your fingers inside to cavity of the eggshells and rub it well to remove the membrane. If you're good and used to it, the membrane will come off nicely as one whole piece. Dry them on the egg cartons before filling.

Sabayon cream
Fill up 3 to 4 large eggshells

1-2 egg yolks (you don't have to be precise, 2 small yolks or 1 large yolks would do)
2 tbsp Marsala wine
5 tbsp heavy or double cream
5 tbsp whole milk
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp vanilla castor sugar

1/2 tsp powdered gelatine
1.5 tbsp cold water

Blossom the gelatine in cold water and set aside, without stirring. Whisk the yolks with a pinch of salt, sugar and the Marsala wine until sugars are dissolved. Heat up a milk pot and place the cream and milk in it. Bring it to a simmer, scalding but not boiling. When it's almost boiling and you see steam escaping profusely from the surface, turn off the heat. Temper the cream mixture with the yolk mixture. When it's all combined, pour it back into the pot and thickened it on medium low heat. You could play safe by using the Bain-Marie style but I've drop that long ago when I realise my magic hands can cook custard and curds without scrambling them over medium direct heat. When it coats the back of a wooden spoon, remove it from the heat and stir in the gelatine paste. Stir until it's fully dissolved, If you think they're not fully dissolved yet, gently simmer them on the stove for a minute or so on lowest heat setting. Cool them for a bit and add in the vanilla bean paste. Stir to combine and pour into a spouted jug. This is to make pouring into the egg shells easier. You can skip that if you're using a spouted milk pot. Pour the sabayon cream into the prepared egg vessels, until it's 3/4 full. Let it set in the fridge, placed on the egg carton. When chilled for a couple of hours, simply crown them with thinly sliced strawberries and pomegranate, whichever desirable.


Have fun!