How to make leche merengada?

What is leche merengada?

Leche merengada, meaning meringued milk, is a traditional Spanish summer drink. Milk is infused with cinnamon and lemon peel, cooled, and combined with a meringue of whipped egg white. It is served very cold, often half-frozen, with cinnamon on top.

Ingredients (about 4 servings)

• 750 ml whole milk
• 60 g sugar for the milk
• Zest (peel) of 1 lemon, without the white pith
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 egg whites
• 50 g sugar for the meringue
• Ground cinnamon to finish

Amounts follow a traditional Spanish recipe; other cooks use more or less sugar, so taste and adjust.

How to make it

1. Heat the milk with the cinnamon stick (opened up), lemon zest and 60 g sugar until it comes to a boil. Take it off the heat.
2. Let it cool to room temperature, then chill for about 2 hours so the flavors infuse.
3. Strain out the cinnamon and zest.
4. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, add the 50 g sugar and keep whisking until glossy.
5. Fold the meringue gently into the cold milk with circular movements.
6. Pour into a large covered mould and freeze, beating it well after about an hour and again an hour later (two hours in total) to break up ice crystals and keep it creamy.
7. Dust with ground cinnamon and serve in glasses.

Tips

• Keep bowls and whisk free of grease or yolk, or the whites will not whip.
• Raw egg white is in the finished drink. If that is a concern, especially for children, pregnant people or older adults, use pasteurized egg whites.
• Watch the milk as it heats, since it can scorch or boil over.
• Frozen leftovers can be softened for a few minutes and scraped with a fork.

Variations

Some versions skip the meringue and are simply cinnamon and lemon milk, called leche preparada. For a dairy-free drink, oat milk is a common stand-in, though the flavor changes.

This is general guidance; recipes vary by cook and region.