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1
Heat the oven to 150F.
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2
Line a baking sheet with parchment and trace twenty-four 2-inch circles onto the paper.
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3
Turn the parchment over, so the ink wont bleed into the meringues.
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4
Put the egg whites and a tiny bit of cream of tartar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk.
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5
Turn it on to low, and beat the whites gently for 2 minutes, to start establishing a structure.
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6
The whites will look frothy but still a bit wet.
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7
Turn the speed up to medium and add 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
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8
Continue to beat at medium speed until the whites have body and are just shy of having soft peaks.
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9
Add 2 more tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until the whites have formed firm peaks.
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10
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until the whites are glossy and smooth and almost stiff.
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11
Keep your eye on the whites, so you dont overbeat them.
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12
If the whites get grainy, theyre useless.
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13
Sift the confectioners sugar over the whites and sprinkle on the ground peppercorns.
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14
Fold in gently but thoroughly.
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15
Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (#803 is perfect) and pipe out neat concentric circles from the outside in, using the circles you drew as a guide.
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16
Keep inside the tracings so the finished meringues will fit into 2-inch ring molds.
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17
Bake the meringues for about 1 hour, until crisp.
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18
Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
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19
Set a meringue in the bottom of a 2 x 2-inch ring mold.
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20
Fill the mold about half full with sorbet, using the back of a spoon to press the sorbet up against the sides all the way to the top, leaving a well in the center.
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21
Clean the edges and freeze for at least 2 hours until firm.
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22
Repeat for each serving.
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23
Put a spoonful of strawberries in the sorbet well of each mold and cover with white chocolate ice cream, filling the mold to the top and evening it off.
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24
Return to the freezer for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
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25
Rub each mold briskly between your hands to release the vacherin.
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26
Set it on a small plate and top with some vanilla whipped cream.
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27
Crumble a few leaves of crystallized verbena over the top as a garnish, if you want, and serve.
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28
You could buy meringues from a good pastry shop (you wont find them perfumed with pink peppercorns, though).
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29
You could also crumble the meringues and layer the components in a parfait glass, like a trifle.
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30
Just make sure to keep the amount of each component the same.
