Peppermint Meringue Brownie Cake

The peppermint streak continues!

After seeing this recipe for peppermint meringue brownie cake both in the last ever (tears!) issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine and in the blog The Bitten Word, I had to give it a try.  I also had egg whites leftover from my peppermint ice cream from last week... kismit?  Maybe.
 

This recipe really is pretty simple, but looks pretty fancy.  Brownies and meringue.  Neither is too hard... Plus I got to use my peppermint extract (carried across the world by Meghan and Liz) as well as my cream of tartar (carried across the southern hemisphere from Sydney by yours truly).

 

I like how the brownie is dense and rich and then the meringue is light and both marshmallow-y and crispy.  Awesomesauce.

Peppermint Ice Cream

I have been going a little bit Christmas crazy in my head for some reason this year... purposefully listening to Christmas music (not something I normally do), repeatedly viewing this gem featuring Jimmy Fallon, Mariah Carey and the Roots (love it), craving cookies (trying not to eat them), trying to convince Tim to sit on Indonesian Santa's lap for a photo opp at our local mall (unsuccessfully)...  not sure what it is.  Perhaps the anticipation of being in the U.S. for the first time in 14 months?

Anywho, I've been craving creamy pink, pepperminty, candy caney ice cream- the kind with the little candy bits in it. I found some candy canes here in Jakarta, have some peppermint extract that Meghan and Liz brought me back when they visited, and found a recipe from sources I trust (Simply Recipes using a David Lebovitz technique), so I had a go at it.  

Peppermint cce cream: success. Creamy, minty and awesome with chocolate sauce.  Can't wait to try it sandwiched between some chewy chocolate cookies.

Candy canes: FAIL.  Like many "western" things here in Jakarta, those candy canes were Not Quite Right (NQR, my most frequently used acronym these days).  Luckily I tasted them before adding them to the ice cream, because they were most definitely not peppermint flavored, despite their peppermint look.  Strawberry, perhaps?  Whatever flavor, it was gross, so these will be show candy canes, never to be eaten.  Sigh.

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

This past Saturday was Tony's pot-luck holiday party.  With his famous Key Lime Pie already on the menu, we were trying to decide on another dessert to bring.  Pinterest strikes again! And Tony thinks it's a useless website, tsk tsk.  Well moments later I found  this recipe.  With some help from my ass groove Tony was able to make some damn tasty brownies!