How to Make Italian Meringue Buttercream

When choosing between Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercreams, the latter is definitely the one I prefer. Although it contains the same ingredients, Italian Meringue Buttercream is more airy and light than Swiss, which is the way I like a frosting to be.Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are afraid of this recipe because it involves cooking sugar syrup. But you shouldn't be! It's not that

How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I receive A LOT of emails and comments about buttercream. I try to respond to them as thoroughly and promptly as I can, but sometimes I just don't have the time to do so, and that makes me feel bad. Like, really really bad. So, what I decided to do was start a bit of a "how to" series on making different kinds of buttercream. I want to be able to address any questions that you guys may have,

Buzz - {Meringue Cupcakes with Raspberry Curd}

I don't remember having a "blanky," a "binky," a "dolly," or any number of "fill-in-the-blank-y"s growing up. Sure, I had my stuffed animals, but I never needed them to fall asleep at night. All I really wanted was a goodnight kiss, an open door and the assurance that the Slime Monster (Ghostwriter, anyone?) didn't exist. After my parents left for their room, it was up to me to make sure that

Strawberry Angel Pavlovas

Let's just get one thing straight right now: I'm a Midwestern person at heart. Born and raised in Illinois and proud of it. It's a wonderful place to be from, and to me, there's no better place to be in the summer. But I've lived in California for seven years, and although I used to think that someday I'd return to where I'm from to raise my kids, now you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming. Or at least grumbling the whole way. Because I've been brainwashed in that crazy way that so many Californians are, which is to say that, generally speaking, I totally believe that there's no better place to live. I still can't believe that I get to live here. The mild weather, the ability to see the mountains and the ocean in the same day, and all our year-round crazy sexy produce. I never understood the appeal of an avocado until I moved to California, and the strawberries, people. The strawberries!


Now, we have access to decent strawberries pretty much all year, but man, when prime strawberry season really hits here, we've got insanely gorgeous ones coming out our ears at criminally cheap prices. Pints at the registers in corner stores, full flats being hocked on street corners, even the organic berries are a steal right now. The fragrance smacks you in the face as soon as you walk into even the largest supermarket, piles of the kind of glistening, plump fruit that reveals a bleeding red interior all the way through when sliced. Like strawberries on Mother Nature's steroids, I tell you. So awesome. And although I love a sparkling sorbet or a great shortcake recipe to showcase them, I think I've found my new favorite way to love on strawberries in their prime. I give you Strawberry Angel Pavlovas.


This recipe was inspired by one from the grande dame of the California culinary scene, she of the famous waffle recipe, Marion Cunningham. Her recipe for Strawberry Angel Pie got an instant bookmark--what's not to obsess over when you're dealing with a pie that involves a crisp meringue crust, billows of freshly whipped cream dotted with strawberries and dreamy lemon cream? Huminuh, huminuh.


As I'm wont to do with recipes with which I become obsessed, I thought about making that dang pie pretty much nonstop as soon as I found it, but hesitated because of the high risk of wasted delicious food. See, despite the insatiable sweet teeth that reside in this household, I really doubted we could demolish an entire pie in a day (not that I mentioned this to the husband, for fear he'd take pause, raise an eyebrow and ask if I'd care to make it interesting). And the reason it would all need to go down within one day is that with a base of delicate meringue and temperamental whipped cream, this is the sort of thing that you have to assemble and put in your face before it all starts to break down. But then I got all smart all of a sudden and opted to make pretty-pretty individual Strawberry Angel Pies, Pavlova-style.


Pavlova, for the record, would probably be up there for dessert after my very last meal. Not that I'm anticipating having my last meal anytime soon. That's a horrible thing to say. How morbid. Sorry. But really, guys--crisp on the outside, marshmallowy-inside meringue shells topped with a bright lemon cream and whipped cream and peak of the season strawberries? Perfection. So perfect, it should be someone's very first dessert. So let's say that instead. The first dessert for a brand new, sweet-smelling little baby angel from heaven. There, that's much better.


Strawberry Angel Pavlovas
Adapted from Marion Cunningham's recipe in The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook

If you'd like to make this recipe into a pie like the original, then just spread the meringue in a buttered 9-inch pie plate, and bake just like you would for the shells. Fill with the lemon cream, then pile on the strawberry whipped cream.

Whether you make the individual Pavlovas or just one big pie, save your assembly for right before your serve it. The meringue can be baked a day in advance (store airtight), the strawberries sliced, and the lemon custard made the day before, stored in the fridge with a sheet of plastic wrapped pushed right on the surface (rewarm it a bit by placing the bowl in a pan of warm water and stirring well, just too loosen it up a little). This recipe can be halved to make four Pavlovas--just use a handheld mixer for the smaller amounts of eggs and cream.

Serves 8

4 eggs at room temperature, separated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced, plus more for garnish
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

For the meringues: In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, then slowly rain in 1 cup of the sugar. Beat on high until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Portion the meringue into 8 mounds on the baking sheet, a generous 1/4 cup full each (a standard ice cream scoop works well to keep things even). Using a spoon, shape each mound into a little meringue nest, each about 4 inches in diameter. To create a small well in the center of each meringue shell, first rest the bowl of the spoon in the center of each meringue, horizontal to the baking sheet, then hold the spoon by the very end of the stem and turn it in a circle as you pull it up and off the meringue.

Bake the meringues in the center of the oven until they are firm and lightly golden, about 1 hour. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet in the turned-off oven with the door open.

For the lemon custard: Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until they are thick and pale yellow. Gradually beat in the sugar, then the lemon juice and zest. Scrape the mixture into a small, nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the custard cool completely.

For the strawberries: Place the strawberries in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar and toss well to coat. Set aside.

When you're ready to assemble the Pavlovas, whip the cream until it hold stiff peaks (you should have about 3 cups whipped cream). Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream gently into the lemon custard. Fold the strawberries into the remaining 2 cups of whipped cream.

Place the meringues on individual plates. Divide the lemon cream equally among the 8 meringue shells, and top with the strawberry whipped cream. Garnish with more strawberry slices. Serve immediately.

Whipped - {Salted Caramel and Pumpkin Macarons}

A number of weeks ago, I completely lost my "macaron mojo." I turned out batch after batch of failed macs, finding myself more disappointed and discouraged as I scraped the cracked, bubbly and caramelized discs from their sheets. Truthfully, ragged, split and misshapen shells are no different from those that assume the proper rise and form, but these were no ordinary mistakes. What I'd been

Martha Stewart's Coconut Chick Cupcakes (#6)

This is my sixth cupcake in the Martha Stewart self-challenge to make all 175 cupcakes in Martha Stewart's cupcake book: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat (Paperback). So, far this one has been the most fun!

Even Layla liked it...she thought she had a new friend to hang out with!

I actually made three of the chicks...they are pretty labor intensive. Luckily, I was able to find the red candy-coated licorice pastels at the Candy Kitchen while I was in Ocean City, MD over the weekend. I thought I was going to have to order them online! The little beak is an almond!

After that I just used the remaining frosting and toasted coconut to make regular cupcakes.

I brought the chicks into work for two of my colleagues who have little girls names Kate and Aerial...they will love them!

It's the first time I've made toasted coconut! It was pretty easy and I was so impressed with myself!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Makes 20 Vanilla Cupcakes
Nonstick cooking spray
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans, halved length-wise, seeds scraped and reserved
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
3 large eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated; scrape down sides of bowl, and beat in vanilla.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed.

Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

Makes 5 cups
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

(Optional) To tint buttercream (or royal icing), reserve some for toning down the color, if necessary. Add gel-paste food color, a drop at a time (or use the toothpick or skewer to add food color a dab at a time) to the remaining buttercream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use a paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is achieved. Avoid adding too much food color too soon, as the hue will intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing in some reserved untinted buttercream.

Decorating

4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 piece (10 inches) black licorice lace, cut into 40 (1/3-inch) pieces
20 whole almonds
140 red candy-coated licorice pastels (about 1/3 cup), or pieces of snipped red licorice laces


Step 1:
Bake cupcakes and cool completely. When turned upside-down, each cupcake becomes the body of a chick. Spread buttercream frosting on a cupcake to anchor it to the serving plate while you are working. Use a small offset spatula to coat the sides thickly with frosting, and then mound more on top to create a dome shape.

Step 2:
Press toasted shredded coconut (see how to toast coconut below) into the frosting -- it stands in for fuzzy feathers. Hold the plate at an angle while applying the coconut so the excess falls back into the bowl.

Step 3:
Place eyes (made from snipped black licorice laces) on chicks using tweezers. Use a whole almond for the beak and red licorice for the feet and comb; both can be pushed into the frosting by hand.

Toasted Coconut:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a small baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool.

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Have a great week!
CQ

Martha Stewart's Coconut Chick Cupcakes (#6)

This is my sixth cupcake in the Martha Stewart self-challenge to make all 175 cupcakes in Martha Stewart's cupcake book: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat (Paperback). So, far this one has been the most fun!

Even Layla liked it...she thought she had a new friend to hang out with!

I actually made three of the chicks...they are pretty labor intensive. Luckily, I was able to find the red candy-coated licorice pastels at the Candy Kitchen while I was in Ocean City, MD over the weekend. I thought I was going to have to order them online! The little beak is an almond!

After that I just used the remaining frosting and toasted coconut to make regular cupcakes.

I brought the chicks into work for two of my colleagues who have little girls names Kate and Aerial...they will love them!

It's the first time I've made toasted coconut! It was pretty easy and I was so impressed with myself!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Makes 20 Vanilla Cupcakes
Nonstick cooking spray
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans, halved length-wise, seeds scraped and reserved
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
3 large eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated; scrape down sides of bowl, and beat in vanilla.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed.

Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

Makes 5 cups
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

(Optional) To tint buttercream (or royal icing), reserve some for toning down the color, if necessary. Add gel-paste food color, a drop at a time (or use the toothpick or skewer to add food color a dab at a time) to the remaining buttercream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use a paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is achieved. Avoid adding too much food color too soon, as the hue will intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing in some reserved untinted buttercream.

Decorating

4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 piece (10 inches) black licorice lace, cut into 40 (1/3-inch) pieces
20 whole almonds
140 red candy-coated licorice pastels (about 1/3 cup), or pieces of snipped red licorice laces


Step 1:
Bake cupcakes and cool completely. When turned upside-down, each cupcake becomes the body of a chick. Spread buttercream frosting on a cupcake to anchor it to the serving plate while you are working. Use a small offset spatula to coat the sides thickly with frosting, and then mound more on top to create a dome shape.

Step 2:
Press toasted shredded coconut (see how to toast coconut below) into the frosting -- it stands in for fuzzy feathers. Hold the plate at an angle while applying the coconut so the excess falls back into the bowl.

Step 3:
Place eyes (made from snipped black licorice laces) on chicks using tweezers. Use a whole almond for the beak and red licorice for the feet and comb; both can be pushed into the frosting by hand.

Toasted Coconut:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a small baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool.

---

Have a great week!
CQ

Meringue Days

After being in the grip of an intense Southern California heatwave for the better part of a week, the hellish beast has released us from his gnarly fists into the kind of weather that Santa Monicans usually take for granted: a high of 71 degrees, 65% humidity, ultramarine skies that kiss the horizon of a glittering navy ocean with the mountains of Malibu in the distance. Sound dramatic? It is. That's how bad the heat was, people. It makes it tragically hard to bake, for one thing. Not that it stopped me. Anyway, with this recent return to the lovely weather that makes life worth living out here, I decided to celebrate by making meringue.


Meringue in all its forms has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a family of chocoholics, but occasionally, usually during the holidays, these delicious and unusual treats would appear among the goodies on my Gramma's kitchen table. Small and light in color, crisp sweet domes of I didn't know what, sometimes with tiny chocolate chips mixed in, sometimes flavored with peppermint. They were a sweet mystery, and I gobbled them up. I also remember begging for a towering slice of a lofty lemon meringue pie from a rotating case at a Greek restaurant, neglecting the shimmying yellow curd altogether and devouring only the sugary pillow on top. I had no idea that what I was in love with was called meringue, and would probably have abandoned it forever if I had been told what it was made of (my lifelong egg phobia is a thing of legend in my family--now it's mostly the yolks that freak me out, and just in certain circumstances. I'm all growed up!).

Meringue, in short, is egg whites whipped with sugar. How the whites and sugar are whipped together determines the kind of meringue it is and how it can be used. There's Swiss meringue, a "cooked" meringue, made by dissolving sugar in egg whites in a double boiler, then whipping them. Italian meringue is made by streaming hot sugar syrup into the whites while they are being whipped, and is also considered to be a cooked meringue. French (aka "classic") meringue, which I make most often, is uncooked, just egg whites and sugar whipped together (I take granulated sugar for a spin in my clean coffee grinder first for a smoother texture). The more sugar added to any meringue, the stiffer the end result will be. These meringues are the base for thousands of recipes, everything from buttercream frostings to the aforementioned lofty pie toppings, dessert shells, macaroons, macarons, and more. And let's not forget meringue cookies.

Because they are so neutral in flavor, meringue cookies can be flavored with just about any extract or powdered flavoring imaginable, and little jaunty bits of chocolate or nuts or somesuch can be nice too. But I like them in traditional vanilla (with the best extract, please), maybe with a bit of cocoa, with tea on a nice, breezy, sunny day like today. When I mentioned that it's perfect meringue cookie-making weather here in Santa Monica, that mainly has to do with the relatively low humidity. Making baked meringue in humid or wet weather is a guaranteed failure--the meringue will flatten and burn and generally just be very sad.

But not today! Today we make meringues.

Meringue Cookies
Makes about 20, depending on size

4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon good vanilla extract
1 cup superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 225 degrees and set the rack to the lower-middle position. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In an immaculately clean metal or glass bowl (any trace of grease will ruin your efforts), begin whipping the egg whites in standing mixer fitted with the whip attachment, or with an electric mixer, on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and the salt, and whip at high speed until the whites are voluminous, glossy and sexy-looking, with the look and consistency of shaving cream.



With the mixer running, begin raining in the sugar, taking a short break about halfway to insure the sugar is well incorporated. When all the sugar has been added, add the vanilla.

At this point, you can add other flavorings or accoutrements (like finely chopped nuts or chips) as well. I opted to make half the meringue cookies vanilla, and gently folded in a tablespoon of Valrhona cocoa to the remaining batter to make chocolate meringues. These added elements will make the whites deflate ever-so-slightly, but they will still be delicious.




Shape the batter into cookies by using two spoons, dropping them onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 225 for 1 1/2 hours, until the exteriors are firm and dry. If they begin to brown, turn the oven down to 200 degrees. Turn off the oven and let the meringues dry out overnight. These can be stored in an airtight container, but are best eaten ASAP, as they will start to become soft and tackier over time. But that's not all bad either, really.