Cashew Meringues
Ingredients
500 g cashews, divided
8 large egg whites
300 g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch salt
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place cashews on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You will know when they are done when they smell nutty and roasted. Remove from the oven.
2. In the meantime, make a template for the meringue disks. Make five, 8-inch round circles by tracing an 8-inch cake pan on a piece of parchment paper. Flip the parchment so that the ink/pencil is on the bottom and line 3 baking sheets. You should be able to fit two 8-inch rounds on one half sheet. Set aside.
3. Divide the nuts in half, placing 250g in a food processor. Pulse to grind. The ground nuts should be smaller than gravel but larger than almond meal or nut flour. It’s okay if there are some larger pieces, like a pea, and some sandy bits. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping on low speed until small bubbles form and the mix turns opaque. Over the next minute or two, slowly add in the sugar and cream of tartar while gradually increasing the speed to medium-high.
5. Continue to whip on medium-high speed until the meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add about a third of the ground cashews along with a pinch of salt. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the nuts into the meringue. Add another third and keep folding, taking care not to deflate the meringue. Add the last third, and fold until combined.
7. Grab a large piping bag with a large-ish opening (½ to 1-inch) and fill it with the cashew meringue. Starting in the center, pipe the meringue in large spirals to fill the traced circles on the parchment paper. It’s okay if they aren’t perfect at first and better to err on the smaller/thinner side, as to not run out by the time you get to the 5th circle.
8. After the meringue is mostly piped out, go back and evenly spread the meringue circles with an offset spatula, evenly distributing any of the remaining meringue.
9. Bake the meringue disks for 40 to 50 minutes, quickly rotating halfway through. When done, the meringues will be slightly browned and dry to the touch.
10. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Gently flip the meringues over and peel the parchment paper off their backs. Set aside until ready to assemble.
French Butter Cream
Ingredients
155 g egg yolk
145 g of toasted white caster sugar
2 tb Brandy ( rum or coffee is fine too )
1 1/2 ts vanilla extract
1/2 ts Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight
455 g unsalted butter softened to about 65°F (18°C)
Directions
1. Fill a wide pot with at least 1 1/2 inches water, with a thick ring of crumpled aluminum foil placed on the bottom to act as a "booster seat" that will prevent the bowl from touching the bottom of the pot. Place over high heat until steaming hot, then adjust temperature to maintain a gentle simmer. Combine egg yolks, sugar, bourbon or other liquid ingredient, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2 . Place bowl over steaming water, stirring and scraping constantly with a flexible spatula, until egg yolk syrup reaches 155°F (68°C). This should take only about 5 minutes; if the process seems to be moving slowly, simply turn up the heat. Once it's ready, transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip at high speed until mixture is fluffy, stiff, and beginning to ball up around the whisk, about 8 minutes.
3. With mixer still running, add butter 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting only a second or two between additions. In the end, the buttercream should be thick, creamy, and soft but not runny, around 72°F (22°C).
4. Use buttercream right away, or transfer to a large zipper-lock bag, press out the air, and seal. Buttercream can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and frozen for up to several months. (The main issue with longer storage in the freezer is odor absorption, not spoilage.) Rewarm to 72°F and re-whip before using.
5 . Troubleshooting: If warmer than 74°F (23°C), the buttercream will be soft and loose; pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes and re-whip to help it thicken and cool. If colder than 68°F (20°C), the buttercream will be firm and dense, making it difficult to spread over cakes and slow to melt on the tongue, creating a greasy mouthfeel. To warm, briefly set over a pan of steaming water, just until you see the edges melting slightly, then re-whip to help it soften and warm. French buttercream can be fixed according to the same rules as Swiss buttercream. For more information, see the troubleshooting guide here: https://www.seriouseats.com/french-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-recipe
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