Swiss Meringue For Sugar Plum Fairy Recipes

SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment; trace six circles measuring 3 inches in diameter on each. Turn paper over so ink is face down.
• Place meringue in an 18-inch pastry bag fitted with a jumbo star tip (Ateco #824). Pipe meringue into disks filling the circles, starting at center and working outward in a spiral. Pipe two more layers around edge, forming a bowl.
• Bake 1 hour, until meringue is set and no longer tacky. Reduce heat to 175 degrees. Bake until meringue is completely dry and crisp but not at all brown, 1 hour or more. Remove from oven; store in an airtight container until ready to use, up to 2 days.
• Place jam in pan over low heat. Cook until liquid, about 5 minutes. Pass through fine strainer; discard solids. Place jam in an airtight container until ready to use.
• Using a small brush, lightly coat berries with egg white. Sprinkle with superfine sugar until well coated, shaking off excess.
• In bowl of electric mixer, whip cream to soft peaks. Add jam; fold in, using rubber spatula. Place meringue bowls in jumbo paper cupcake liners set on plates. Spoon plum mixture into meringues; top with berries and spun sugar. Serve immediately.

SWISS MERINGUE

Steps:

• Fill medium saucepan one quarter full with water. Set the saucepan over medium heat, and bring water to a simmer.
• Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of electric mixer, and place over saucepan. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Test by rubbing between your fingers.
• Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use meringue immediately.

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.

SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

Steps:

• In a champagne glass combine Champagne, plum wine and cranberry juice. Garnish with a gumdrop.

SWISS MERINGUE FOR SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan one-quarter full with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
• Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heat-proof bowl or bowl of electric mixer; place over saucepan. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Test by rubbing between your fingers. Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment; whisk on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla; mix until combined. Use immediately.

SWISS MERINGUE

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan one-quarter full with water. Set the saucepan over medium heat, and bring the water to a simmer.
• Combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer; place over the saucepan. Whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers to ensure that no sugar remains.
• Attach the bowl to the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add the vanilla, and mix until combined. Use the meringue according to the instructions in the recipes.

PLUM MERINGUES

Steps:

• Using a small knife, remove the pits from plums without cutting plums entirely in half. Place plums in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring stock syrup and bay leaves to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour syrup over plums and let cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. With the mixer on low, slowly add superfine sugar; increase speed and continue whisking until firm peaks form. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until meringue is smooth and shiny and stiff peaks form, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Drain plums and pat dry with paper towels, removing as much syrup as possible. Gently fold plums into meringue mixture.
• Using two large spoons, scoop one-quarter of the meringue mixture and pass it between both spoons to form a rounded oval shape; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining meringue. Transfer to oven and bake for 2 hours.
• Cool meringues slightly on baking sheet; carefully transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in a dry place before serving.

BROWN SUGAR MERINGUES WITH RED WINE PLUMS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Blend together the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla to make a paste. Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and glossy, then whisk in the sugar in three goes, adding a little paste and whisking back to firm peaks each time. Keep whisking until the meringue is thick and heavy.
• Spoon six meringue heaps onto the baking sheet, spaced apart, then shape into nests by making dips in the centres with the back of a spoon. Bake for 1 hr, then turn off the oven and leave to cool in the oven for a further hr.
• Put the wine, sugar and cinnamon stick in a medium pan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the plums, then poach gently for 4-5 mins until just tender. Remove the plums with a slotted spoon, peel off the skins, then set aside.
• Increase the heat under the sauce and boil hard until reduced to a thick syrup, about 5 mins. Pour into a jug; leave to cool.
• To serve, set the meringue nests on serving plates and spoon the crème fraîche into the centres. Place three plum halves on each and drizzle over the sauce. Serve without delay.

SYRUPY PLUMS WITH PISTACHIO MERINGUES

Steps:

• Halve larger plums and stone them, and leave smaller ones whole. Put into a saucepan with 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp cornflour. On the heat, stir for 1-2 mins until the cornflour disappears into the plum juices, then stir in 100ml water and the jam or conserve. Cover and simmer for 10-20 mins until the plums are tender and the sauce syrupy - splash in some more water if it looks a little dry. Scrape the pan contents into a large, shallow baking dish.
• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until stiff. Whisk in the 200g sugar in 3 batches, beating the whites back to stiff between each addition. Whisk in remaining cornflour and vanilla and keep going until you have a lovely shiny, stiff mixture.
• Scoop 6 large spoonfuls of the meringue on top of the plums, scatter with pistachios, then bake for 30-40 mins until the meringues are crisp on top but still pale, and soft underneath. Eat warm or at room temperature, with cold crème anglaise or cold custard for pouring over.

SPUN SUGAR FOR SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

Steps:

• Cover a 4-by-5-foot area of floor with parchment or newspaper. Set a pasta drying rack or a wooden drying rack on the paper, and coat well with cooking spray.
• Combine sugar, the water, and corn syrup in a small saucepan; stir to combine. Place pan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down any sugar crystals on sides of pan. Clip on a candy thermometer; cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 290 to 295 degrees.
• Remove from heat; let sit for about 5 minutes, until very fine threads form when whisk is lifted from sugar. Dip whisk into sugar; swing over rack, using a quick motion, to create long threads.
• When rack is coated with a thin cobweb-like layer of sugar, lift it in one piece from rack, and roll it gently into a ball. Set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until 12 balls are formed.