Meringue Disks Recipes

NEVER-EVER-FAIL MERINGUE

Steps:

• Blend cornstarch and cold water in a saucepan. Add boiling water, and cook until thick and clear. Cool completely.
• Beat egg whites till foamy. Gradually beat in sugar, beating until stiff and glossy. Add salt and vanilla, and slowly beat in cold cornstarch mixture. Beat quickly for several minutes. Spread meringue on filled, cooled 9-inch pie.
• Bake pie at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes until tips of meringue begin to brown.

MERINGUE DISKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
• Butter and lightly flour two baking sheets. Trace two eight-inch circles on each sheet.
• In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, two cups of the sugar and the cornstarch. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they are frothy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating constantly until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.
• Sprinkle some of the almond mixture on the egg whites and fold in. Repeat until all the almond mixture is incorporated.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round No. 4 tip with the meringue. On the baking sheets, squeeze the meringue around the rim of a traced circle. Work toward the center in a circular motion until the entire circle is filled in. Repeat with the remaining circles.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until the meringue is golden and crisp.

MERINGUE SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large clean dry bowl with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until thick and opaque, about 1 more minute. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until stiff shiny peaks form, about 5 more minutes.
• Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large flat or star tip. Pipe about seventy 1-inch disks on the baking sheets, leaving space between each. Bake at 250 degrees F until dry and crisp, about 3 hours. Let cool completely on the baking sheets. Store in an airtight container in a dry place for up to 1 week. Just before serving, sandwich with seedless jam or lemon curd.

MERINGUE NESTS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large clean dry bowl with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until thick and opaque, about 1 more minute. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until stiff shiny peaks form, about 5 more minutes.
• Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe eight 3-inch disks on the baking sheets, then pipe around the edge of the disks to create 2-inch-high sides. Bake at 250 degrees F until dry and crisp, about 3 hours. Let cool completely on the baking sheets. Store in an airtight container in a dry place for up to 1 week.
• For the filling, whisk the mascarpone with the confectioners' sugar, then whisk in the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Spoon into the meringue nests; top with sugar pearls.

MERINGUE DROPS

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line baking sheets with parchment., Preheat oven to 200°. Add vanilla, cream of tartar and if desired food coloring to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form., Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert pastry tip. Fill bag with meringue. Pipe 2-in. circles or shapes 2 in. apart onto prepared baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with pearl sugar. , Bake 20-25 minutes or until set and dry. Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven until oven has completely cooled. Store in an airtight container.

CRISPY BAKED MERINGUES

Steps:

• Whip the egg whites and salt into peaks.
• Add the vanilla, and continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
• In a separate bowl, stir the cream of tartar into the regular sugar and whisk into the whites very gradually, a spoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and the sugar has dissolved.
• Sift together the icing sugar and cornstarch. Sift over the meringue and gently fold until fully incorporated.
• Pipe or spoon the meringues onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Each meringue should be about the size of a bar of soap.
• Bake at 225ºF/110ºC until cream-coloured and crisp on top when tapped, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Remove from the oven. Cool on the trays. Store in an air-tight container.

MERINGUE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until soft peaks form. Add vanilla, and slowly beat in sugar until very stiff and glossy. Spread mixture into a 9 inch pie plate to form a shell.
• Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 minutes. Turn oven off, and leave meringue in oven for 1 hour. Cool.

CHILEAN TORTA DE MERENGUE

Steps:

• MERINGUE DISKS:.
• Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease and flour two 9" springform pans. If you prefer, line them with parchment paper.
• On low speed, beat egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer until foamy. At this point, increase mixer speed to high and beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. While still beating, add the superfine sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat for about 8 minutes, or until you see stiff glossy peaks. Beat in lemon juice (or vinegar) and vanilla extract.
• Mix together the granulated sugar, nuts and cornstarch in a small bowl, then fold this mixture into the beaten egg white mixture.
• Divide meringue equally between the two prepared springforms, then spread to even out. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the meringues are dry. Turn off the oven, remove the springform from the bottom of the pans, and leave meringues in the oven to cool for an hour (leave oven door slightly open).
• After cooling in oven, meringues can be used immediately, stored tightly wrapped for a few days at room temp, or frozen for a couple of months.
• GLAZE:.
• Combine chocolate, butter and coffee in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Over low heat, stir mixture until melted and smooth. If you prefer, this can be done in a microwave instead. Once melted, allow to cool.
• FILLING:.
• Halve the cherimoya and scrape the flesh into a mixing bowl using a small spoon. Mash the cherimoya flesh with a fork, hen pick out the seeds and throw them out. Mix the fruit mash with the lemon juice and pisco or brandy. Mix the berries into the cherimoya mixture.
• Softly whip the cream (and stabilizer, if using) in a large bowl on low speed. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form. Divide whipped cream in half. Fold the prepared fruit mixture into one half of the whipped cream.
• ASSEMBLY:.
• Place one of the meringue disks on a serving plate with a bit of the plain whipped cream underneath to keep disk from slipping around. Drizzle the glaze over the meringue (don't spread it, though), then spread the fruit on top. Place second meringue disk over the fruit. Using a decorator bag with a 1/4" star tip, pipe 8 to 10 circles of cream around the top of the meringue disk. If using, arrange berries &/or chocolate curls on top of the torte. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (if using the chocolate curls, the powdered sugar should be sprinkled on before the chocolate for a better appearance). Chill for at least 4 hours before serving (can be chilled overnight).
• Slice with a thin, sharp knife to serve.

COOKIES-AND-CREAM PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Make the meringue: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites and salt. Whisk on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. While the machine is still going, slowly add the sugar in a narrow stream, then raise the speed to high. Whisk the egg whites until glossy, stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. When you lift the whisk out of the bowl and turn it upside-down, a meringue mountain peak should form without flopping over.
• Coarsely crush or chop the 10 cookies and add to the meringue. Gently stir with a rubber spatula or large metal spoon until the cookies ripple throughout.
• Mound the meringue onto the center of the parchment-lined sheet pan and, using the spatula or spoon, gently form into a round that's about 8 to 9 inches wide and 2 to 3 inches high. You can encourage this shape by repeating a circular motion that swirls the meringue and creates lovely waves so the surface doesn't look smooth. When you're happy with your disk, make one final circular motion in the center to create an indent, where you'll pool the whipped cream later.
• Bake the meringue for 1 1/2 hours, then turn off the oven, leaving the door shut, and let the meringue finish cooking in the residual heat until crisp and dry on the outside with a springy, marshmallowy interior (but it should not be wet), 15 to 30 minutes. Remove the meringue from the oven and let it sit on the counter to cool completely.
• While the meringue cools, make the topping: In a large, clean bowl or in the stand mixer (with a clean bowl), whisk together the heavy cream, sugar and salt until billowy soft peaks form. When you turn the whisk upside-down, a peak of cream should flop over slightly like a Santa hat.
• Pile the whipped cream on top of the cooled meringue, leaving a border, and top the cream with the 5 cookies, crushing them over the cream with your hands or chopping them and sprinkling them on top. Slice and serve the Pavlova like a cake.