RaspberrySwirl Meringues, Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Favorite Recipes by Joanne Chang, Photography by Kristin Teig.
When I received this book, I hugged it. I owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude toJoanne Chang. Her books have guided me through multiple baking exploits.
To uninformed first-timers, she is a James Beard award-winning baker best known for her eight acclaimed Flour bakeries in Boston. Chang has published two books based on the offerings at Flour, such as her famous sticky buns, but Pastry Love is her most personal and comprehensive book yet.
It includes 125 dessert recipes for many things she could never serve in the setting of a bakery—for example, items that are best served warm or with whipped cream on top. Nothing makes Chang happier than baking and sharing treats with others, and that passion comes through in every recipe, such as Strawberry Slab Pie, Mocha Chip Cookies, and Malted Chocolate Cake. The recipes start off easy such as Lemon Sugar Cookies and build up to showstoppers like Passion Fruit Crepe Cake.
Joanne Chang is a gifted raconteuse. She revels in the details. Her books are disciplined and have a necessary efficiency. She is unashamed in her pursuit of baking excellence.
Pastry Loveincludes master lessons and essential techniques for making pastry cream, lemon curd, puff pastry, and more, all of which make this book a must-have for beginners and expert home bakers alike.
Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Favorite Recipesis available at Amazon.com and Indigo.
Raspberry Swirl Meringues
Makes 8 Meringues
Raspberry Swirl Meringues
I had never thoughtto put fruit into a meringue cookie untilI visitedOttolenghiin London and was blown away by theirgorgeous raspberry meringues. At this iconic bakery, piles ofmeringues sprayed with raspberry sauce is the focal point oftheir pastry counter. Back in Boston we tried to replicate thesebeauties and came upon a different way of incorporating theraspberry flavour. Instead of spraying the sauce (called a coulis)we swirled it in with . . . chopsticks. Chopsticks are the idealtool for making deep divots in the meringue and then swirlingthe coulis in a spiral throughout the meringue. This makes astunning cookie that is light and fruity and truly unique. Wesometimes add shaved bittersweet chocolate to the meringuefor a decadent variation.
Raspberry Coulis(recipe below)
1 cup/120 grams confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 large egg whites (about 1 cup/240 grams), at room temperature
1 cup/200 grams superfine sugar
About 3 ounces/85 grams bittersweet chocolate, finelyshaved (1/2 cup; optional)
Make the raspberry coulisand set aside.
Preheat the ovento 175°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it liberally with pan spray. Set it aside.
Sift the confectioners’ sugarand salt into a small bowl together and set aside.
In a stand mixerfitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until the wires of the whisk leave a slight trail in the whites, 3 to 4 minutes.
With the mixeron medium, add the superfine sugar in three increments, whipping for about 1 minute between additions. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. The meringue should be glossy and stiff and look a bit like soft Cool Whip or shaving cream. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the confectioners’ sugar and the chocolate, if you are using it. The meringue will soften up a bit with the sugar folded in.
Use a 1/2-cup ice cream scoop,large soup ladle, or 1/2-cup measuring cup to spoon out baseball-size mounds of meringue onto the prepared baking sheet. You should get about 8 meringue mounds. Use a small teaspoon to make a divot in the center of each mound and fill with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the coulis.
This next part is tricky. You aregoing to use a pair of chopsticks heldtogether or a slender spoon handleto swirl the coulis around into the meringue. Start by pointing thechopsticks at a 45-degree angle, notstraight up and down, into the wellof coulis. Scoop just underneath thecoulis, lift the chopsticks throughthemeringue, and pull up and swirlone-and-a-half swirls through the meringue in a circular motion,starting with a small circle andmoving outward. Pull the chopsticks out of the meringue and repeat,starting from the center and swirlingoutward but this time in the oppositedirection. Don’t press the meringuedown too much while you’re doingthis, oryou’ll flatten it out and won’tget a nice billowy cloud. It’s temptingto keep swirling the coulis, but then you’ll end up with a faded pinkmeringue and not a distinctwhite and-fuchsia swirl. Also try to avoid letting the coulis run down thesides and onto theparchment,or it will settle underneath themeringue while baking and oxidizeinto an off-putting purple-greencolour. Repeat with the remaining7 meringues.
Bake for about 4 hours, until themeringues are firm to the touch.Turn off the oven, crack the ovendooropen, and let the meringues dryout for at least 8 hours or up toovernight before serving.
The meringues can be stored in anairtight container at room temperaturefor up to 5 days.
Raspberry Coulis
MAKES 1/4 CUP
3/4 cup/95 grams fresh or frozen raspberries
11/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Combine the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a food processor and process on low speed until it becomesliquid. Strain the coulis through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the seeds. Refrigerate the coulis for at least 1 hour tochill.
Coulis can be stored in anairtight container in the fridgefor up to 1 week.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
