Swiss Meringue For Lemon Blackberry And Meringue Parfait Recipes

FOOLPROOF SWISS MERINGUE

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a medium pot.
• Combine sugar, egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Reduce the heat of the pot and place the bowl over the steam. Whisk egg whites lightly until a digital or candy thermometer inserted into the mixture reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.
• Place bowl back onto the stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until egg whites are cool and stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Mixture should hold peaks effortlessly and start balling up around the whisk attachment while appearing silky, shiny, and pure white.
• Use meringue immediately. It will hold its shape without separating for about a week in the refrigerator.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Wipe the bowl of an electric stand mixer and the whisk attachment with lemon juice to remove any trace of grease. Add sugar and egg whites to the bowl.
• Whisk sugar and egg whites together in the bowl of the stand mixer over simmering water, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140 degrees F (60 degrees C), about 10 minutes. Return bowl to the stand mixer.
• Whisk sugar-egg white mixture in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until mixture is thick, glossy, and temperature of outside of bowl is room temperature. Change attachment to the paddle attachment and continue mixing on low speed. Add butter, 1 cube at a time; mix until silky-smooth. If mixture curdles, continue mixing and it will return to smooth.
• Pour vanilla extract and sprinkle salt into butter-sugar mixture; beat until fully incorporated.

SWISS MERINGUE FOR LEMON, BLACKBERRY, AND MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• Whisk egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved and whites are hot to the touch, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Use immediately.

LEMON, BLACKBERRY, AND MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with an Ateco #22 star tip; fill with meringue. Pipe 12 to 16 long swirly shapes onto one of the prepared sheets. Gently spread remaining meringue 3/4 inch thick onto the other.
• Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 175 degrees; continue baking until meringue is dry but still white, 35 minutes more, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Set aside swirls; crumble meringue sheet.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine creme fraiche and 1 cup lemon curd; refrigerate until ready to use.
• To assemble parfaits, layer creme-fraiche mixture, crumbled meringue, and blackberries in serving glasses. Spoon some of the remaining 1/2 cup lemon curd into each glass. Top with whipped cream; garnish with meringue swirls. Serve immediately.

LEMON MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• Line a 20cm round tin, preferably loose-based, with cling film, using more than one piece if necessary to cover the bottom and up the sides, and pop in the freezer.
• Roughly break up the meringues with your fingers into a bowl, aiming for nothing bigger than a golf ball.
• Put the cream and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until starting to stiffen. Stop when it looks floppy, like Greek yogurt.
• Grate over the lemon zest and sprinkle over the gin and meringue rubble. Use a large spoon or spatula to fold the cream up, over and round, until just combined.
• Stir the lemon curd so it's gloopy rather than firm; if it remains too thick, dilute with a tsp of gin. Dollop over the surface of the cream. Take your spoon and fold it in, turning the bowl as you do so - no more than a dozen folds, so the curd forms streaks. Spoon gently into the tin and freeze for at least four hours. Once firm, cover with cling film.
• About 10-20 mins before serving, remove the parfait from the freezer, invert onto a plate, peel away the cling film, and return right-side-up, at room temperature. Serve in wedges with lemon curd drizzled over and the fruit on the side.