Meringue Boxes With Sorbet Food

MERINGUE BOXES WITH SORBET

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.

MERINGUE TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch; beat into egg-white mixture. Beat in vinegar and vanilla.
• Drop dollops of mixture in a line down center of prepared baking sheet. With a flexible spatula or a wet spoon, spread into a 6-by-14-inch rectangle. Make a 1-inch-deep well down the center, leaving a 1-inch-thick border around edges.
• Bake 2 hours; turn off oven, and let stand (in oven) for 2 hours or up to overnight. Fill with sorbet; top with peaches or almonds, if desired. Cut into pieces with a serrated knife.

TROPICAL-SORBET-AND-MERINGUE STACK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Stir together sugar and cornstarch. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with lemon juice and salt on low speed until frothy. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add sugar mixture, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Draw two 5-by-10-inch rectangles on a sheet of parchment, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Turn parchment upside-down on a baking sheet and adhere corners with masking tape or tiny dollops of meringue. Repeat with another sheet of parchment and baking sheet, so you have 4 rectangles total. Divide meringue evenly among rectangles; spread to edges with an offset spatula.
• Bake until meringues are crisp and dry on outsides, but not developing any color, about 1 hour. Turn oven off (do not open door); let cool and continue drying in oven at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Temper sorbets in refrigerator until softened but not melting, about 15 minutes. Transfer one meringue layer to a freezer-safe plate or tray. Gently spread one pint of sorbet evenly to edges of meringue. Repeat with remaining meringue and sorbet layers, topping with last meringue layer. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or, wrapped in plastic, up to 2 days.
• Beat cream to soft peaks on medium-high speed. Spread over top of cake; sprinkle with berries, coconut, and seeds. Slice and serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and return to freezer until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.