Okay, so I’ve been on a bit of a dessert kick lately, and let me tell you about this one I tried to make – Suspiro de Limeña. Sounds fancy, right? It’s a Peruvian thing, apparently pretty popular down there.
So, I got this recipe, thought I’d give it a shot. It’s basically like a two-part deal. First, you gotta make this creamy, caramel-like base. You get a can of evaporated milk and a can of sweetened condensed milk, pour them both into a pot, and just let it simmer on the stove. You gotta keep an eye on it, though, and stir it once in a while so it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.
The whole point of this simmering is to get it to thicken up and turn a bit darker, like a light caramel color. Took me a while, I won’t lie. Maybe like 30-40 minutes? I was kinda just winging it, but it seemed to work out okay. Oh, and I also added a bit of vanilla extract in there ’cause why not?
Making the meringue
- After that whole milk thing is done and cooled down a bit, you gotta do the meringue.
- This is where you whip up egg whites until they’re all fluffy and form stiff peaks. You know, the usual meringue drill.
- I don’t have one of those fancy stand mixers, so I just used a hand mixer. Took a bit longer, but it got the job done.
- Then, you slowly add in some sugar while you keep mixing. I also poured in some red port wine, ’cause the recipe I found said it’s how they do it traditionally. Gave it a nice little kick, I guess.
Once the meringue was ready, I folded it into the cooled-down milk mixture. It was kinda tricky, trying not to deflate the meringue too much. But I managed, I think.
Then you just scoop it into some little glasses or bowls, and some folks like to sprinkle some cinnamon on top. I tried it both with and without, and I gotta say, the cinnamon does add a nice touch.
Honestly, it wasn’t too hard to make. Just took a bit of time with all that simmering and mixing. But the end result? Pretty darn good. It’s super sweet and creamy, with that nice port wine flavor in the meringue. Definitely a dessert I’d make again, maybe for a special occasion or something. Or just ’cause I feel like having something sweet and fancy, you know?
