Meringue Basket Recipes

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Beat the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. , Drop meringue into 8 mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape into 3-in. cups with the back of a spoon. Or place meringue mixture in pastry bag fitted with star tip. Pipe meringue onto parchment to form eight 3-in. cups., Bake at 275° for 45-50 minutes or until set and dry. Turn off oven and do not open door; leave meringues in oven for 1 hour. Fill with fruit. If desired, top with whipped cream and mint.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat until the mixture is frothy and soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between each addition. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat for an additional 5 minutes. The egg whites should be glossy and stiff but not dry.
• Spoon the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 2-inch cookies onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each cookie.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cookies in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees. Use a pencil to trace six 3-inch squares and twelve 2-inch-by-3-inch rectangles on a piece of parchment paper, and place, pencil side down, on baking sheet.
• Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the meringue for later use. Fill a piping bag fitted with a coupler, with a tip of your choice, and pipe out the meringue in desired patterns. The piped lines or designs should connect, but you want to leave plenty of open spaces in between the piping. Cover the remaining meringue with plastic, and set aside.
• Bake piped meringue 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 175 degrees, and bake an additional 35 minutes or longer, until the meringue is dried but still white.
• Return the remaining meringue to electric mixer, and rewhip until light, fluffy, and glossy. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue and a plain tip. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, assemble the boxes by piping the meringue along edges of bottom square and piping meringue between side rectangles. Change the tips, and pipe out a decorative pattern on the outside joints to hide your work. Do not attach the top of box.
• Return the baking sheet to the oven, and bake until the second piping of meringue is hard and dry, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely.
• Scoop the sorbet into each box, and serve with top to the side or placed over sorbet.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼. Tip the egg whites and lemon juice into the clean bowl of a food mixer. Whisk until the whites double in volume and hold a peak when the whisk is drawn through them. Keep the whisk running and add the sugar a tbsp at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next. Whisk until all the sugar has been added and the whites are glossy.
• Place a square of baking parchment on a large baking sheet. Pencil nine circles, about 7cm each, onto the parchment. Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe concentric rounds to fit each drawn circle, piping two or more rings around the edge to form a nest. Bake for 2 hrs until they are crisp and lift off the paper easily. Leave to cool completely.
• Whisk the crème fraîche until stiff, then fold in the yogurt. Set 2 strawberries and 9 raspberries aside and roughly chop the rest. Tip the chopped berries, mint and ginger into a bowl. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and use a wooden spoon to mash to a rough purée. Gently fold the berries into the yogurt mix, adding icing sugar to taste.
• To assemble, cut the remaining strawberries into 9 slices and place a slice inside each meringue case. Generously share the rippled cream between the cases, then top with a raspberry and a mint sprig. Dust with a little icing sugar just before serving. ( Meringues keep in an airtight container for 2 days.)