Raspberry Ripple Meringue Food

RASPBERRY-RIPPLE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Trace an 8-inch circle onto a piece of parchment paper. Turn over paper and place on a baking sheet. In a food processor, puree half the raspberries, 1 teaspoon sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. With a rubber spatula, press mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Discard solids and set sauce aside. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and cornstarch.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream of tartar, egg whites, and pinch of salt on high until foamy. Reduce speed to low and add sugar mixture in 3 additions, beating on high 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down bowl and beat on high until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons raspberry sauce to meringue, but do not stir. With rubber spatula, mound meringue (it will ripple as you scoop) onto prepared parchment on sheet, using circle as a guide.
• Bake meringue until crisp and dry on outside, about 1 hour 50 minutes. Turn off heat and let meringue dry in oven, 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. To serve, gently peel meringue from parchment and transfer to a platter. Top with whipped cream and remaining raspberry sauce and raspberries.

RASPBERRY RIPPLE PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Make the semi-freddo. Push 140g/5oz of the raspberries through a sieve, leaving behind the seeds. Stir in 25g/1oz of the icing sugar. Whip the cream until like thick custard. Whisk in the mascarpone until the mix thickens, then stir in the remaining icing sugar.
• Drop spoonfuls of the cream mix into a deep, oblong plastic container, and fill in with a drizzle of sieved raspberries. Do not stir. Add another layer of cream and raspberries. Gently smooth the surface and press down lightly, then freeze for 2-21⁄2 hours until half frozen.
• Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment. Draw a 20-22cm circle on the paper. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. Beat in the cornflour. Pile the meringue in soft folds onto the circle on the baking parchment. Scatter over the pistachios. Bake for 11⁄4-11⁄2 hrs until crisp on the outside and dry underneath. Cool then gently peel off the paper.
• Remove the semi-freddo from the freezer and pile in big spoonfuls on the pavlova. Finish off with a scattering of the remaining raspberries.

CRUNCHY RASPBERRY RIPPLE TERRINE

Steps:

• Mash 150g of the raspberries, pass through a sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds, and set aside. Line a 1 litre loaf tin with cling film. Whisk eggs and sugar continuously over a bowl of barely simmering water, until doubled in volume and thick (an electric whisk is ideal). Remove bowl from heat. Continue to whisk until completely cool; the whole process will take about 10 mins.
• Whisk the cream until just thick. Fold the egg mix into the cream until completely combined, then fold in the meringue. Pour the raspberry purée over the mix in a zigzag, then gently pour into the lined loaf tin. Freeze for minimum 4 hrs and serve in slices with the remaining whole raspberries.

RAINBOW RIPPLED MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1 and line 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment. First, set up your piping bags. You will need 3 disposable piping bags for the 3 flavours. Using a wet paintbrush, paint lines of undiluted food colouring along the inside of the piping bags. Be quite generous, because you want bold colours. Wash the brush well between each colour so they don't mix. Snip off the end of 1 bag and drop in an extra-large round piping nozzle, then put the bags to one side.
• Tip the egg whites into a large mixing bowl or table-top mixer - make sure it's grease-free before you start. Whisk the eggs with an electric hand whisk or in your mixer, until they hold soft peaks. Begin adding the sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking continuously, until you have a thick and glossy meringue, which will hold up in a stiff peak on the end of the whisk. Divide the meringue into 3 bowls and swirl through your chosen flavourings (to correspond to the piping bag colours). You want to achieve a marbled effect rather than thoroughly mixing it all in.
• Put the piping bag fitted with your nozzle into a tall glass or jug and roll the piping bag down over the lip of the jug to hold it in place. Fill the bag with the correct flavoured meringue to match the colour in the bag. Lift up and twist the end to seal.
• Hold the piping bag about 2cm vertically above the baking tray. Apply an even pressure to the bag, slowly lifting the bag as you squeeze, to make a smooth round meringue, approximately 6cm wide. To finish with a nice peak at the top, push down a little on the mixture then quickly pull the nozzle away.
• Continue until all the mixture in the bag is used up, leaving enough room for the meringues to spread a little. Quickly remove the nozzle, wash it and dry well, then drop in the next piping bag. Continue with the remaining mixtures until it they are all used up and you have 2 trays covered with 3 colours of meringues.
• Bake for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ for the final 30 mins. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks while you make another batch of meringues with the remaining 3 flavours, if you like. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or serve with our flavoured creams (see tips, below).

RASPBERRY MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 225°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In small bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until very stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes.
• Add jam and food color; beat 1 minute at high speed. Pipe or spoon 1-inch mounds onto paper-lined cookie sheets.
• Bake at 225°F. for 2 hours or until crisp and dry. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled. Remove cookies from paper.