Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes for meringues only Servings: a crowd
Notes on the dessert
The ingredients
Delft Butchery stocks the Speculaas kruiden (the spice) as well as the Biscoff ingredients
Use the CRUNCHY Lotus Biscoff spread. Although both the smooth and the crunchy spread can be microwaved and drizzled or poured over desserts, I like a puffy textured pudding (more trifle-like for Christmas) and prefer to just dollop spoonfuls over or in-between for a crunchy texture. It’s very pricey and you can get away with using only the Speculaas spice in the filling.
Buy the ready-made 750g Lotus Biscoff Crumble from Tasko Sweets if you plan on making this often. It has a perfect rough texture and works out cheaper.
A note on the cream: Use Clover Ultra – pasteurized cream for folding through dessert fillings but use a standard pasteurized cream like Woolworth’s whipping as it is whiter. Long life cream whipped sometimes splits as a dessert topping-especially the next day.
The assembly
I dislike the “mousse” texture when whipped cream is folded through the filling, so I re-worked the dessert from the original 500ml whipped cream folded through 2 blocks of cream cheese. My friends found no fault but I much prefer a rich silky centre and the tang that cottage cheese adds.
A little melted butter can be mixed through some of the crumbs to make a delicious crumble topping, however it’s not necessary to add butter for the base as it tends to set too hard
The spice/Kruiden can be added to everything-even mix through caramel sauce or caramel treat and serve with ice cream.
If you are going away and have no kitchen equipment, or you are expecting to have no power use the second recipe option.
For a low-fat version use 2 fat-free smooth cottage cheese and 1 condensed milk. Only use the spice and layer and decorate with meringues.
For a lower-in-sugar leave this page now or get help.
Speculaas Meringue Christmas pudding
250g Lotus Biscoff biscuits roughly blitzed and place in the bottom of a glass bowl. Retain a handful for the top.
Filling
1 block Philadelphia cream cheese
1 can condensed milk
1 tub Mascarpone
1 tub fat-free smooth cottage cheese
1 teaspoon Spekulaas Kruiden
Topping
½ jar Biscoff CRUNCHY
Speculaas meringues
Optional
250ml white whipping cream
method
Start by whipping/blending the Philadelphia cream cheese and adding the remaining ingredients (except the Biscoff spread) slowly so that no lumps form.
Dollop the mixture on top of the biscuits, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the pudding from the fridge.
Dollop spoonfuls of the Biscoff crunchy on top or in-between the Speculaas meringues
Alternatively layer a few meringues through the filling. Lightly whip 1 tub (250ml) of cream, place in a disposable piping bag and snip the end. Pipe little clouds of cream on top and scatter with the remaining crumbs.
Speculaas meringues
1 portion COOK Meringues with added 1 teaspoon Speculaas Kruiden.
Pipe small meringues
Bake at 130 ˚C for 45 minutes
The recipe can be halved if you do not have a large oven ( this fills 2 trays in a Smeg oven)
Speculaas Meringue Christmas pudding (option 2-with no electricity or kitchen equipment)
1 bag Bolletjie Kruidnoten from Delft (a bag of little spicy Speculaas button biscuits- perfect to sprinkle at the bottom or top of your dessert).
Filling
2 tubs smooth cottage cheese
1 tub mascarpone
1 can condensed milk
1 teaspoon Speculaas
Store-bought meringues
Mix the filling ingredients by hand-starting with the mascarpone (bringing it to room temperature will make this easier to smooth out).
Dollop on top of the biscuits and refrigerate overnight.