Strawberry Meringue Delights look gorgeous and melt in your mouth. They are impressive gourmet desserts to serve as the final course of a fancy dinner party. Everyone gasps when they see these pure white meringues filled with sliced strawberries and topped with home-made whipped cream. They take a few steps to make, though- here's how. This recipe serves six.
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. While the oven is pre-heating, gather the ingredients. Bring the eggs to room temperature before starting. Measure 1 cup of granulated sugar and remove 1/4 cup for later. Combine 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the 3/4 cup of granulated sugar.
2. Cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil because meringues will stick to the sheet otherwise and they will be ruined if you grease it.
3. Separate the eggs (make sure they have reached room temperature first). Save the yolks to use in another recipe such as a home-made bread dough. Place the whites into the bowl for the electric mixer. Beat on high. The egg whites will expand as you force air into them. They will become intensly white.
4. Add the sugar mixture slowly, a bit at a time, while you are beating the egg whites. Keep beating for about 10 minutes or until the whites can form peaks that do not collapse when you remove the beaters. Then add the vanilla and beat again for a minute.
5. Use a spoon to drop the meringues onto the aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. Spread six circles of the meringue out on the sheet so that each circle contains 1/6 of the meringues and is about three inches in diameter. Then form the stiff meringues into bowls. There should be a solid base of meringue at the bottom of each circle- perhaps 2 1/2 inches across. Then arrange the outside edges so that they will be taller. The meringues will not change shape or dimension while they are cooking.
6. Bake the meringues for 1 hour at 250 degrees. Leave them inside the oven for several hours after you turn off the heat to dry. Don't open the oven door. Then, remove them and pull off the aluminum foil. Place them in an air-tight container or wrapper until you are ready to serve the strawberry meringue delights.
7. Pull the stems off the strawberries. Discard any damaged fruit. Place the strawberries, one at a time, into the egg slicer. Close the lid and open it to release the slices into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar to the berries. Cover them with foil or other wrap and place in the refrigerator. The sugar will cause a syrup to form from the fruit while the berries are chilling.
8. Whip the cream about 30 minutes before you are ready to serve the strawberry meringue delights. Place one pint of chilled heavy cream into the bowl that you use with the electric mixer. Chill this bowl for about 10 minutes before using it. Set the mixer to whip or on high and beat the cream until it expands and forms stiff white peaks that don't fall when you remove the mixer. While whipping, add 1/3 cup powdered sugar a little at a time.
9. Assemble individual servings of strawberry meringue delight. Place a meringue on a dessert plate. Fill the open center of the meringue with 1/2 cup sliced strawberries and a bit of the syrup. Then spoon a generous portion of whipped cream over the berries. Top with a sprig of fresh mint leaf. Serve and enjoy.
Tags: about minutes, aluminum foil, granulated sugar, about minutes before, cookie sheet