Vanilla Praline Meringue Cups With Blackberry Raspberry Sauce Recipes

FRESH RASPBERRY MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170°F, or the lowest setting on your oven that is closest to this temperature. Move your oven rack to the top third of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Combine raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir often, crushing berries with the back of a wooden spoon as they cook. As soon as the rasberry mixture becomes syrupy, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the berry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup, pressing down on the berries with a rubber spatula to extract all the juices. You should have about 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce. Discard the seeds and stir the vanilla extract into the sauce. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before proceeding.
• Place egg whites in a mixing bowl and sprinkle the cream of tartar over them. Use a mixer to beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
• Stir the cooled raspberry sauce, then gently fold 1/3 of the sauce into the beaten egg whites. Repeat two more times with the remaining 2/3 of the raspberry sauce.
• Spoon meringue into a gallon-size zip-top baggie, forcing the mixture to one corner of the bag. Snip about 1/4" from the corner of the bag so meringues can be piped onto the prepared pan. Pipe out 1 1/2 inch swirled circles onto baking sheet, making sure that the meringues don't touch. If you prefer, meringues can be gently scooped and dropped by rounded teaspoonfuls instead of piping.
• Bake for 2 hours at 170°F, rotating the baking sheet after 1 hour so they will dry evenly. When done, the meringues should not have any browning, and they should be dark pink in color.
• Turn off the oven and allow meringues to remain in the oven for at least two hours to finish drying, or you can leave them in the oven overnight.
• Meringues can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days, or they can be frozen for up to one month. If frozen, allow to thaw to room temp before serving.

CRISPY MERINGUE CUPS WITH BERRIES AND SORBET

Steps:

• Stir together the strawberries, blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Set aside to macerate, stirring occasionally, while you make the meringue cups.
• Whisk together the egg white, vanilla, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and lemon zest in another medium bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar and stir with a rubber spatula until mostly combined, and then mix with your hands until a thick, firm dough forms.
• Remove about 1/8 of the dough and place in another bowl. Add the red gel food coloring. Wearing gloves, knead the dough to swirl in the color until no streaks remain. Return the red dough to the bowl with the other dough and mix together until swirled throughout.
• Transfer the dough to a cutting board and pat into a disk. Cut into 8 equal pieces (about 2 tablespoons each), and then roll each into a ball. Use a finger to poke a hole, about 1/2 inch across and 1/2 inch deep, into the center of each ball. If the ball starts to crack when poked, use your fingers to press it back together. Cover with a slightly damp kitchen towel so they don't dry out.
• Line a microwave-safe round dinner plate with a paper towel. Place 1 ball in the center of the plate and microwave on the highest setting until the dough puffs into a crispy meringue about 5 inches across-it should be hollow when tapped, about 1 minute 30 seconds. Use an oven mitt or kitchen towel to remove the very hot plate from the microwave and transfer the paper towel with the meringue to a wire rack.
• Line a second large microwave-safe round dinner plate with a new paper towel and repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough, alternating between the two plates so that they have a little time to cool down after microwaving each meringue cup.
• Let the meringues cool completely, then carefully peel away the paper towels.
• Place each meringue cup on a serving plate and top each with about 1/2 cup of the macerated berries and a scoop of lemon sorbet. Drizzle with some of the juices from the fruit and serve immediately.

VANILLA SEMIFREDDO WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Lightly oil an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2-inch loaf pan and line it as neatly as possible with plastic wrap, allowing enough to drape over the sides to later cover the top. (I lay two pieces of plastic wrap across the pan, overlapping in the middle.) Place the pan in the freezer.
• Put the egg yolks (reserve 1/3 cup of the egg whites and discard or save the rest for another use), 1/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla seeds in a medium heatproof bowl and beat with a handheld mixer fitted with the beater attachment for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat the mixture continually for 3 minutes, until doubled in volume and warm to the touch. Off the heat, beat the mixture for 1 minute.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the reserved egg whites, the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the cream of tartar and beat on high speed until the whites form firm but not dry peaks. Fold the egg whites into the egg mixture with a rubber spatula.
• Without washing the mixer or whisk, pour the heavy cream, vanilla liqueur (if using) and vanilla into the bowl and beat on high speed until it forms soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream carefully but thoroughly into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 4 hours.
• Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes.
• Pour the mixture and the preserves into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Stir in the framboise and chill.
• To unmold, dip the pan in a bowl of hot tap water for 8 to 10 seconds and turn the semifreddo upside down onto a rectangular serving plate. Peel off the plastic wrap. (You can cover and refreeze the semifreddo for a few hours on the serving plate.) Pour several tablespoons of raspberry sauce on each dessert plate, cut 1-inch-thick slices of the semifreddo and place them in the center of the sauce. Sprinkle each serving with blueberries and serve immediately.