Spuma de capsuni
Only three ingredients: strawberries, egg whites and sugar, about ten minutes working time and you will be able to enjoy this delicious, Romanian summer dessert.
This strawberry foam was THE summer dessert for me and my sister while growing up. My grandmother was not much into making sweets of any kind, she didn’t really have much time to start with anyway, she always worked full-time, so in spring/summer when we would crave for something sweet, she used to whip up this quick dessert. It was fast, very cheap and totally delicious!
And she was not the only one making this dessert, the strawberry foam is a typical Romanian dessert, I think everybody who grew up in Romania has had it plenty of times. This dessert kind of catches the essence of Romanian cooking: economical, using the best ingredients and tasting delicious. Economical, because Romania was never a rich country, most people live on a tight budget, so food is often simple, relying on just a few good ingredients. And when the ingredients are scarce, then you really have to make sure you get the best possible produce, which will allow you to cook delicious food without the need of lots and lots of other things. And when it comes to vegetables, great tasting vegetables, Romania is the place to be, the soil is fertile and the weather makes the plants thrive.
I could almost start crying now, when thinking about the huge farmer’s market Cibin in my hometown Sibiu. I can see the mountains of fresh strawberries, I can almost smell them… Heaven! So sorry I couldn’t appreciate this market more while I was still living there. I didn’t have any interest in cooking back then, so this market’s beauty was kind of lost on me. And now I miss it so much!
So the most important thing when making this recipe: use the tastiest, sweetest strawberries you can get your hands on and the freshest possible eggs. The egg whites will remain raw, so buy those pasteurized eggs, if you are worried about Salmonella. God knows, we never even knew there was such thing as Salmonella back in those days in Romania, nothing ever happened, but if you want to be completely safe, please use the pasteurized eggs.
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Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
- 450 g/ 1 lb strawberries
- 3 egg whites
- 150 g/ 5.3 sugar
- Clean and chop the strawberries finely.
- Whisk the egg white until stiff, start adding the sugar slowly and continue beating until the egg whites are shiny and stiff again.
- Add almost all the chopped strawberries, reserving a small handful for decorating, and continue whisking until the strawberries are incorporated and almost completely crushed.
- Distribute the strawberry foam into dessert bowls and top with the reserved strawberries.
18 comments
I LOVE farmer’s markets and though it has not quite warmed up enough here yet for the local produce to be plentiful, I’m still looking forward to it! We have a few strawberry plants growing in our garden and they have only produced flavours so far this year, but when they do produce berries, they are so delicious and sweet. I’ve never heard of this dish before, but it sounds like something I would love! Perfect for trying soon, especially when I get my hands on some super ripe strawberries 🙂 !
I hope you like it, Dawn. Garden strawberries are the best, they might not always look perfect, but they definitely taste amazing!
This sounds delightful and I’ll bet the texture of this strawberry foam is terrific. And how I wish I had access to all those wonderful, flavorful Romanian vegetables!
Me too, Kimberly, I especially miss the tomatoes, the sweetest, best tasting ever!
I just love fresh strawberries this time of year! This sounds very refreshing.
It is like a sweet, aromatic cloud in the mouth. 🙂
Yes, you are right !! Sweet cloud in the mouth. We never heard of Salmonella growing up in Romania and nobody got sick 🙂
Sweet quality local strawberry does makes all the difference, doesn’t it? This is a great summer dessert, Adina.
Totally, Angie. There is no comparison between the early, Spanish strawberries and the local German ones and then again no comparison between the field strawberries and those growing directly in the garden.
Dear Adina, what a great simple dessert! Thank you for this recipe. Our strawberry season in NH is in full swing now. I am not hesitant to use raw eggs, we do it often for ice cream. But I know a lot of people are, and it’s a good idea for people who have compromised immune systems not to use raw eggs. I love that pasteurized eggs are available now, so helpful! I hope you are completely recovered from your surgery and having a great summer!
Thank you, Allie. My recovery is going well, I feel better every day, it was a bit weird the first 4-5 days after the surgery but now I could almost say that I feel better than before the surgery, I have more energy and my general mood improved a lot… 🙂
These are absolutely gorgeous and I love how simple they are. Food memories from growing up are so wonderful and yet often so bittersweet.
That is true, Chris. It seems like yesterday I was about 10 and eating this and my grandmother barely in her 50’s… So long ago though, the time flies…
My grandmother used to make this all the time and I loved this sooooo much! Always with fresh fruits from her garden, it was perfection. And I didn’t even notice how much I missed this until I made one recently with aquafaba.
Your presentation is so pretty here, love those wine glasses 🙂
Cool, you also had this in Hungary! I just had to google aquafaba, wow, does it really work? The wine glasses used to belong to my husband’s grandmother, I like them too.
Oh! I have never heard about Romanian Strawberry foam but looking at ingredients and your gorgoeus pictures I so want to try them! I so need to rush to the grocery store to but some fresh Strawberries! Thanks for sharing your Grandmother’s recipe with us! Love how easy and summer-y this is!
Thank you, Anu, let me know if you liked it! 🙂
Such a simple and beautiful looking recipe! I bet your children are just loving the strawberry series each one has been absolutely mouthwatering 🙂 but this has to be my favorite so far!