Johnny Iuzzinis Meringue Mushrooms Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
• Place egg whites, sugar, and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisk constantly while rotating the bowl until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm. Attach bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until stiff peaks are formed, about 10 minutes.
• Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain round tip. Transfer meringue to pastry bag. To create mushroom stems, pipe meringue in an upwards motion onto the prepared baking sheet, applying even pressure until you have a strip of meringue about 1 inch in length with a point at one end and a flat side at the other. To create mushroom caps, hold the pastry tip about 1/4 inch above the prepared baking sheet and apply pressure to the bag until a 3/4-inch round is formed. Continue making stems and caps as desired, making sure to reserve about 1/4 cup meringue for attaching the stems to the caps.
• Dust mushroom caps with cocoa powder. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake until meringue is firm, about 1 hour.
• Using a small paring knife, make a tiny incision in the center of the flat underside of the mushroom caps. Pipe a tiny bit of reserved meringue. Place the caps over the pointed ends of the stems, return mushrooms to baking sheet and continue to bake until meringue is hard and completely dry, about 2 hours. Store in a covered container at room temperature.

Steps:

• Combine egg whites with cream of tartar in bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in sugar, beating at high speed until mixture is very stiff and dull looking.
• Scrape meringue mixture into pastry bag. Pipe round, button shapes to make mushroom "caps". Pipe pointed "kiss" shapes about one inch tall to make "stems". Dust with cocoa. Bake two hours in 200 degree oven until crisp and completely dry. Assemble the mushrooms: Place chocolate in a small bowl. Set bowl in a skillet of barely simmering water. Immediately turn off heat and stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Spread a little melted chocolate on the flat side of each meringue mushroom "cap". Use a sharp knife to cut off and discard the pointed ends of meringue "stems". Attach stems to caps while chocolate is still soft. Set assembled mushrooms aside until the chocolate has dried and caps and stems are "glued" together. Meringue mushrooms may be made 3-4 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• In a large glass or metal bowl, use an electric mixer to whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Continue whipping until the whites hold soft peaks. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar so that it does not sink to the bottom, and continue whipping until the mixture holds stiff shiny peaks.
• Place a round tip into a pastry bag, and fill the bag half way with the meringue. To pipe the mushroom caps, squeeze out round mounds of meringue onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Pull the bag off to the side to avoid making peaks on the top. For the stems, press out a tiny bit of meringue onto the other sheet, then pull the bag straight up. They should resemble candy kisses. Do not worry about making all of the pieces exactly the same. The mushrooms will look more natural if the pieces are different sizes. Dust the mushroom caps lightly with cocoa using a small sifter or strainer.
• Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the caps are dry enough to easily remove from the cookie sheets. Set aside to cool completely. Melt the coating chocolate in a metal bowl over simmering water, or in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
• Poke a small hole in the bottom of a mushroom cap. Spread chocolate over the bottom of the cap. Dip the tip of a stem in chocolate, and press lightly into the hole. When the chocolate sets, they will hold together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Store at room temperature in a dry place or tin.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Divide meringue among three small bowls. Set one aside. Fold 1 tablespoon cocoa into the second portion, and 2 tablespoons cocoa into the third portion. Place each portion in an 18-inch pastry bag fitted with a large round 1/2-inch tip. Pipe domes, 1/2 inch to 2 inches in diameter, onto prepared baking sheets, and flatten the tips with a damp forefinger. Pipe stems onto baking sheets, making one to go with each "cap."
• Bake the meringue shapes in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, rotating baking sheets halfway through, 1 hour; reduce oven temperature to 175 degrees. Continue baking until completely dry to the touch but not browned, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Melt bittersweet chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Using a small offset spatula, spread bottoms of caps with a thin layer of dark chocolate, and let set. Melt white chocolate in another heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Let cool until thickened, and spread over dark chocolate. Use a toothpick to draw lines through the chocolate from the center to edge of caps; let set.
• Using a paring knife, make a small hole in center of each coated cap. Dip one end of each stem in remaining white chocolate, and insert into a hole; let set.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Fill a medium saucepan 1/4 full with water. Set over medium heat; bring water to a simmer.
• Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and place over saucepan. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, about 3 minutes; rub the mixture between your fingers to test.
• Transfer bowl to mixer stand fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, until meringue is cool, and stiff glossy peaks form. Add vanilla; mix until combined. Use immediately.
• Place in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pipe meringue, forming mushroom caps 1/2 inch in diameter. Pipe a stem shape for each cap. Place baking sheets in oven until meringue is dry in center, 1 to 2 hours.
• Poke a small hole in the center of each cap using a paring knife. Insert the pointed end of each stem into hole in the cap, forming mushrooms. Meringue mushrooms should be kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Just before using, dust lightly with cocoa powder.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat sugar and 1/2 cup water over low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid reaches 248 degrees (hard-ball stage) on a candy thermometer.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric beater fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high, and add hot syrup in a steady stream, beating constantly. Continue beating until cool and stiff, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Fold in cocoa powder.
• Spoon meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a coupler and large plain tip. Pipe meringue onto prepared baking sheet to form 2-inch domes. Pipe a separate stem shape for each dome.
• Sprinkle cocoa powder lightly over meringues. Bake until dry, about 2 hours. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
• To assemble mushrooms, melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Trim off points from tops of stems. With a small offset spatula, spread chocolate on underside of a cap and place trimmed end of stem into center of cap. Place mushroom, stem side up, in an egg carton to harden. Repeat with remaining mushrooms; refrigerate until set.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees. Place Swiss meringue in an 18-inch pastry bag fitted with a large 3/4-inch round tip. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pipe meringue, forming domes 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Pipe a stem shape for each dome. Bake for 1 hour; reduce heat to 175 degrees, and continue baking until meringues are completely dry to the touch but not browned, 45 to 60 minutes more.
• Fill a medium saucepan one-quarter full with water. Set over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Place bittersweet chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, and set over simmering water. Turn off heat; stir chocolate occasionally until completely melted. Using an offset spatula, spread bottoms of domed meringues with chocolate; let sit at room temperature.
• Place white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, and set over simmering water. Turn off heat; stir chocolate occasionally until completely melted. Allow to cool slightly. To create mushroom gills, spread white chocolate over dark chocolate; use a toothpick to create lines from the center of the cap's underside to the edges. Let set in a cool, dry place.
• Poke a small hole in the center of each mushroom cap using a paring knife. Dip the pointed end of each of the mushroom stems in melted white chocolate, and insert into hole in center of cap. Allow to set. Meringue mushrooms should be kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.