Pages

4/8/11

Excited to Make Pretty Meringue Cups with Raspberries for Easter!

I don't use many Pampered Chef products simply because they've never been in my budget to do so.  However, I have a few of their products that I just love, and my food chopper is one of them.  Over the years of heavy use it now is scratched, cracked and ready to be replaced.  I saw a Pampered Chef catalog in my coworkers office one day last week and found out her Mother is a sales rep.  While looking through her catalog to place an order for a new chopper I spied a photo of these little meringue cups and knew they would be perfect for Easter dinner!

I actually make something similar to this already;  I make the meringue cups in circles about 2-3 inches round and I fill them with a vanilla or lemon curd pudding style filling and top with strawberries, kiwi, blueberries and raspberries. 

This recipe takes my dessert one step 'smaller' by making the circles tiny and topping with just one raspberry.  So very pretty and dainty and perfect for a beautiful Easter buffet.

Meringues

3 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cream of tartar
1 jar (7.5 oz/213 g) marshmallow cream
1/4 tsp (1 mL) Double-Strength Vanilla


Filling and Garnish
1 cup (250 mL) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (50 mL) powdered sugar
1 t (5 mL) Vanilla
1 pint fresh raspberries
Fresh mint leaves

Preheat oven to 200°F (100°C). Line two Cookie Sheets with Parchment Paper; set aside. In Stainless (4-qt./4-L) Mixing Bowl, beat egg whites on high speed of electric hand mixer until frothy; add cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Add marshmallow cream and vanilla; beat until mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form.

Spoon about half of the meringue batter into a decorator bag with the tip cut off 1/2 inch or use a large round decorator tip.  To form pedestal base, starting 1/2 in. (1 cm) from edge of Cookie Sheet, pipe a small round of meringue, 1/2 in. (1 cm) in diameter, onto Cookie Sheet. Pipe a ring of meringue around the edge of the base and spiral upward and around two more times, forming a tiny cup; repeat with remaining meringue in six rows of six pedestals each, refilling bag as needed and filling both Cookie Sheets. Bake 30 minutes or until meringues are dry. Turn oven off, leaving meringues in oven; let stand 2 hours or overnight.

For filling, place cream into a clean, grease free mixing bowl.   Beat on medium-high speed until slightly thickened. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Attach round tip to a decorator bag, fill with cream filling. Pipe cream filling evenly into meringue cups. Garnish each cup with a raspberry and a mint leaf.

Yield: 6-7 dozen meringues


Nutrients per serving: Calories 25, Total Fat 1.5 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbohydrate 3 g, Protein 0 g, Sodium 5 mg, Fiber 0 g