Raspberry Hearts Food

RASPBERRY MERINGUE HEARTS

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Fold in chopped almonds and vanilla. , Preheat oven to 300°. Drop meringue into 6 mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape into 4-in. hearts with the back of a spoon, building up the edges slightly. Bake for 35 minutes. Turn oven off; leave meringues in the oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. , For filling, place raspberries in a food processor. Cover and process until blended. Strain and discard seeds. In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, pureed raspberries and jam until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Cool. , To serve, spoon sauce into meringue hearts. Place scoop of sorbet on top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Garnish with fresh raspberries if desired.

BRICK RED RASPBERRY HEARTS

Steps:

• Make the filling: Place the fresh raspberry puree in a pan and bring it to a boil. Pour the hot fruit puree over the chopped milk chocolate. The hot puree will melt the milk chocolate. Use a whisk to mix the chocolate and fruit puree. Add the butter and continue to whisk. Continually whisk while adding the alcohol and the corn syrup. Mix until well combined with no remaining lumps. Let this cool. Must be less than 88 degrees or it will melt the chocolate molded inside each cavity. Paint the molds: Place a few drops of color in the receptacle of the airbrush and apply color to the empty molds. This is what will give the finished chocolates their color. Repeat to paint as many molds as you have. Mold the chocolates: Use a ladle to fill the mold with white chocolate. When it is full, empty it into the bowl of chocolate. The inside of each cavity should be evenly coated with chocolate. Wipe the edge of the mold clean with an offset spatula and place it upside down on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Once the chocolate starts to harden, about 5 minutes, scrape the mold again with an offset spatula. When the chocolate sets, it shrinks or retracts from the sides of the mold. A clean edge will keep it from sticking and cracking as it shrinks. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for several minutes to help the chocolate to harden. Repeat to fill as many molds as you have. Place the raspberry ganache in a piping bag and pipe it into the chocolate filled molds. Leave just enough room for the layer of chocolate that closes the mold. Let set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight. To close the bottoms of each cavity, use tempered white chocolate and apply with an offset spatula. Scrape clean and allow to them to set. You can place them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. When the chocolate has set, invert the mold over a clean dry surface. It may be necessary to rap the mold against the counter to encourage the chocolates to release from the mold.
• Source: Heart molds: Beryls

RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE HEART TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
• Place the fresh raspberries, cream cheese and honey in a medium bowl. Using the back of a fork, mash the raspberries with the cream cheese, leaving some pieces of raspberry intact. Set aside.
• Unroll the pie dough. (If using homemade dough, roll 1/4 inch thick.) Using a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, stamp out 20 to 22 hearts.
• Arrange half of the hearts on a lightly floured work surface (these are the bottom crusts). Set aside the remaining hearts (these are the top crusts). Place 2 teaspoons of the raspberry cream cheese in the center of each bottom crust, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edge.
• Cut a heart, with a 3/4-inch cutter, out of the center of each top crust. Reserve and bake the smaller hearts along with the tarts, if desired.
• Lightly dip your index finger into a cup of water and "brush" the border of a bottom crust. Top with a top crust and gently crimp the edges shut with the tines of a fork. Repeat with the remaining crusts.
• Place the tarts and the reserved hearts on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOW HEARTS

Steps:

• Process the freeze-dried raspberries in a coffee grinder or spice grinder until finely ground. Sift the mixture into a small bowl to remove any raspberry seeds. Set aside.
• Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and whisk to combine. Set aside to bloom.
• Line an 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan with plastic wrap. Sift the cornstarch and confectioners' sugar together into a medium bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Set the pan and remaining cornstarch mixture aside.
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
• Combine 3/4 cup of water, the granulated sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Gently stir until the sugar crystals are all moistened. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan (or use an instant-read thermometer that measures at least up to 240 degrees F) and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F.
• As the sugar cooks, begin beating the egg whites on low speed. When the sugar syrup reaches 215 degrees F increase the speed to medium. (The goal is for the egg whites to reach stiff peaks right as the syrup reaches 240 degrees F.)
• Pour the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream along the edge of the bowl (not directly onto the whisk) as you continue to beat the egg whites. Place the gelatin in the saucepan over low heat and heat just until melted. Beat the gelatin into the meringue. Continue beating until the outside of the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch, about 5 more minutes.
• Turn off the mixer and add the red food coloring if using; beat just until combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the freeze-dried raspberry powder by hand. Reserve the remaining powder.
• Coat a rubber spatula with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Pour the warm marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and use the spatula to spread it in an even layer. Sprinkle another 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch mixture on top. Cover and let rest at room temperature until set, about 4 hours.
• Once set, remove the marshmallow by lifting the plastic wrap out of the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Cut a heart shape out of paper or thin cardboard that's small enough to fit in the middle of the marshmallows. Place the remaining raspberry powder in a small sieve. One at a time, place the heart on top of a marshmallow and dust with raspberry powder. Remove the heart. Repeat until all the marshmallows are decorated.
• Store for up to 1 week in an airtight container, dusting the marshmallows with more of the cornstarch mixture to keep them from sticking together.