Monday, February 9, 2009

french meringues with blackberry syrup

I got this recipe from One More Moore, a creative blog I like to "stalk." I altered her recipe a bit, screwed it up, then altered it more... and the syrup recipe is all mine {though the idea was hers, too, if truth be told}. We had company over last night and had these for dessert. They were good, really good, but they need a little tweaking. Next time I'll do things a little differently {i.e. throw in some vanilla and pay closer attention to the whipping}. But the general concept was too good not to post.


RECIPE: French Meringues

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
2 1/4 powdered sugar

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. Whip the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add all the sugar in small bits. Mix in Kitchen-Aid on medium speed for 30-40* minutes until satiny and looks like whipped cream.

Place in pastry bag and pipe into desired shape (I used a large star shaped tip with my bag). Place in oven and put a wooden spoon in the oven door to keep it slightly propped open (this will avoid getting cracks in the meringues).


Bake for 3 hours. Make sure they are completely dry before pulling them out of the oven.Allow to cool completely & store in an air-tight container.

OR You can do it MY way and over whip them {*note to self: in the future, disregard the time frame and just watch for the stiff peaks to form... lesson learned}, add way too much extra sugar and an extra egg white {why not?} to the mix in attempts to salvage the meringue soup... all the while failing anyway. Then spoon {pour!} the mixture into cupcake tins and bake at 300 until the lil' beauties are pretty much dried out {but slightly pie-top-like-meringuey inside since you have no patience} and more resemble macaroons. Then eat them anyway... and still think they're pretty great. :) {I'm just sayin'... it's an option!}

RECIPE: Blackberry Syrup

Ingredients:
1/2 c. water
1 c. sugar (plain ol' white sugar)
2 c. frozen blackberries

Directions:
Over high heat {faster is better, imo}, bring water to a boil. Add sugar and stir. Let the mix boil for a few minutes to dissolve and thicken a tiny bit. Add blackberries. Bring to a boil again. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occassionally, until the syrup reaches the desired consistency (probably about 5 minutes). Serve hot, over oh-so-yummy meringues... and enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. So excited to try this! scared, but excited and glad i get to learn from your mistakes and your masterpieces! thanks! they look SO yummy!

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  2. That looks so so so yummy! I want to be the next friend you invite over to feed!

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  3. Becca, I am really sad I missed these, but the sandwiches were really great too. thanks again for dinner, you guys are the best!

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  4. I have never made merriugnes before and I am excited to try this! Thanks bec you are sooo creative!

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  5. Yummy!! I think I would've skipped the whole 40 minutes of whipping the meringue too, so glad you said it was necessary, but really...yours look like they turned out great, so how necessary?? :)

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