Angel Meringue Bites Food

KATHY'S ANGEL MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F Spray a 9" pie plate with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Spread 1 1/3 cups of meringue in the bottom and halfway up the sides of prepared pan. Using a pastry bag, pipe remaining meringue in a decorative border around the edges. Bake for 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and lemon peel. Gradually stir in lemon juice and water. Mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil for 1 minute.
• Beat a small amount of hot mixture into the beaten egg, then add that back to the saucepan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour into a large bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
• Whip heavy cream until medium peaks form. Add powdered sugar and lemon juice and continue beating until firm peaks. Fold into the cooled lemon filling. Spoon filling into the meringue shell. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

ANGEL MERINGUE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whip egg whites until frothy. (you can use your electric mixer on high or a wire whisk).
• Add splenda, vanilla and salt.
• Mix on high speed until stiff peaks form (about 20 to 30 seconds, longer if using whisk).
• Spoon rounded tablespoons of egg whites onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from pan. Cool.
• To assemble meringues:.
• Just before serving, sandwich Angel Bites with filling of choice by spreading the filling on the bottom of one cookie and topping with another.

LEMON MERINGUE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Place fresh, cold egg whites and cold water in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Set aside until they are 60 degrees, or slightly below room temperature.
• Pour flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and salt into a triple sifter or sieve. Sift onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside. Adjust rack in lower third of oven; preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set nearby a dry, un-greased 10inch tube pan. Such a pan allows the batter to cling to the sides and rise to its full height. Place a long-necked bottle or large metal funnel nearby for inverting the baked cake.
• Whip egg whites, preferably with a whisk attachment until frothy. Add cream of tartar and whip on medium speed until soft peaks form. Continue whipping and gradually add the 1 cup granulated sugar until whites have thickened and form soft droopy white peaks. Add the vanilla and lemon zest in the final moments of whipping.
• Sprinkle one-quarter of the flour mixture over the whites, and with a rubber spatula, fold into the whites. Repeat this process with the remaining flour mixture, folding in only one-quarter of the flour mixture at a time. Gently pour the batter into an un-greased tube pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is light golden, the cake feels spongy and springs back when touched, and a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out free of cake. Invert cake onto the neck of a bottle or funnel. Cool completely before removing from pan.
• To remove cake from the pan, slip just the tip of a small metal spatula between the cake and pan. Slowly trace the perimeter to release any cake sticking to the pan. Tilt the cake pan on its side, and gently tap the bottom against the counter to loosen the cake. Rotate the cake pan, tapping as you turn it a few more times, until it appears free. Cover the cake with a rack or cardboard round, and at the same time that you invert the cake onto the work surface, tap it firmly onto the surface. Lift the pan from the cake.
• For the filling: In a 1 1/2 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk briefly to combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add the pieces of butter, and place the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly over the entire bottom. Cook the mixture without boiling until it begins to develop body and thicken. Remove from heat and pour through a stainless steel sieve into a bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap, poke a few small slits in the plastic with the tip of a paring blade allowing steam to escape while cooling. Refrigerate (curd will thicken).
• For the frosting: In a 3-cup saucepan, combine the water and 2/3 cup sugar. Place over low heat to dissolve the sugar, then increase the heat to medium high and boil, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 235 degrees. (Wash down any sugar crystals slinging to the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water.) Near the end of the boiling time, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue to whip until the whites are stiff but not dry. With the mixer running, pour the syrup onto the whipped whites. Continue to whip on medium speed, about 3 minutes more. Mixture will thicken, cool and form glossy, stiff peaks. Add the vanilla. Cool to room temperature, about 8 to 10 minutes, then frost cake right away.
• Assembling the dessert: Cut cake into three layers. Spread the lemon filling equally between the two layers; top with remaining layer. Frost top and sides of cake with Italian Meringue Frosting.

LEMON MERINGUE BITES

Steps:

• Make lemon curd:
• Cut butter into pieces and in a heavy saucepan cook with zest, lemon juice, and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture just comes to a simmer. In a bowl whisk together eggs and whisk in lemon mixture until combined well. Transfer lemon curd to pan and heat over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until it just begins to simmer. Pour lemon curd through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool slightly. Chill lemon curd, its surface covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours, or until cold, and up to 3 days.
• Fill tartlet shells in baking cups with lemon curd. Chill tartlets, covered, 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Make meringue:
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat whites until they hold soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.
• Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip and pipe meringue 2 inches high onto each tartlet, completely covering lemon curd.
• Bake tartlets in middle of oven 3 minutes, or until meringue tips are just browned, and cool in cups on racks. Chill tartlets in airtight containers at least 2 hours, or until cold, and up to 1 day. Keep tartlets chilled until ready to serve.