Valentine Meringue 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.

MARBLED MERINGUE HEARTS

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line baking sheets with parchment., Preheat oven to 200°. Add vanilla and cream of tartar to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Remove 1/4 cup and tint pink. Lightly swirl pink mixture into remaining meringue. Fill pastry bag with meringue. Pipe 2-in. heart shapes 2 in. apart onto prepared baking sheets. , Bake until set and dry, about 20 minutes. Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven until oven has completely cooled. Store in an airtight container.

MERINGUE HEARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a mixer, and beat with mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes. Divide meringue into batches, and tint each with food coloring as desired. Transfer to pastry bags fitted with medium open star tips. Pipe hearts (1/2 to 1 inch each) onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 2 hours. Turn oven off, and let meringues stand in oven for 8 hours (or overnight).

MERINGUE LOLLIPOP HEARTS

Steps:

• Trace six 3-inch heart shapes in two rows on a 12-by-18-inch sheet of parchment. Repeat with a second sheet of parchment. Line 2 baking sheets with the parchment, pencil-side down, and set aside.
• Combine the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure the bowl is very clean). Place an inch or two of water in the bottom of a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place the bottom of the bowl over the simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together until the mixture becomes whiter, the sugar has dissolved and the mixture registers about 140 degrees F. This will take 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the vinegar and
• salt. Beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks with tips that stand straight up. The meringue will gather in a mass around the whisk attachment when it is ready.
• Transfer a third of the meringue to a small bowl to tint pink and a third to a separate small bowl to tint red. (Keep the remaining third white.) Add a small amount of gel food color to each bowl and whisk to incorporate. Transfer the meringue to piping bags with large tips; star tips and round tips work well.
• Place 2 racks towards the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Pipe about 1 tablespoon of meringue into the center of each heart and spread a bit with a small spoon. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the meringue if using. Place a paper straw or lollipop stick into the center of each meringue. Use the meringue in the pastry bags to pipe stars, swirls and rosettes to fill in the heart shapes. Aim to make the meringue hearts about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Top with sprinkles, sugar pearls or more chocolate chips if desired.
• Once piped, tap each baking sheet on the counter a couple of times. Place the pans on racks in the center of the oven and bake until the meringue is dried, about 2 hours (2 1/2 hours for thicker meringue); the appearance of the hearts won't change much as they bake. After 2 hours, turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool inside the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Once the pans are cool to the touch, carefully lift the meringue pops off the pan by lifting the meringue gently (don't lift by the stick). Serve immediately or store up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

VALENTINE MERINGUE HEARTS

Steps:

• Cut a heart pattern from a 4-1/2 inch square of paper. Cover baking sheet with brown paper. (You can bake on the brown paper so make sure it is clean.) Grocery store bags without writing on them are okay. Draw 6 hearts on the brown paper using your pattern as a guide.
• Beat egg whites with vanilla, cream of tartar and salt until frothy. Add sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Rub a bit between your figures to feel that no sugar remains undissolved. Add food coloring, a few drops to make a delicate pink color.
• Spread meringue over the heart shapes, 1/4 inch thick. Make into the heart shape using a spoon to push and form into correct shape. Pipe rim 3/4 inch high with pastry tube.
• Bake in preheated 275-degree oven for 1 hour. Turn off oven and let meringues dry in oven for 1 more hour. DO NOT open oven door during this time.
• Fill the cooled meringues with scoops of ice cream and top with strawberries. Decorate with mint leaves if desired.