Meringue Snowballs In Custard Recipes

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. In a large heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, eggs, 1 cup sugar and cornstarch until blended; stir in 4 cups milk. Cook over medium-low heat 10-15 minutes or until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and a thermometer reads at least 160°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat immediately. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl., Place bowl in an ice-water bath. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Stir in 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour., For snowballs, add cream of tartar to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Stir in remaining vanilla. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form., In a large heavy skillet, bring remaining milk barely to a simmer over medium-low heat. Working in batches and using two soup spoons, drop meringue by 1/3 cupfuls into milk; poach meringues 4-6 minutes or until firm to the touch, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, remove meringues to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining meringue, making a total of 12 snowballs. (Discard remaining milk.) If desired, serve with pecans.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250° F. Generously grease cookie sheets with shortening.
• In medium bowl, stir powdered sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, chocolate chips, bourbon and corn syrup until well mixed. Shape 1/2 teaspoonfuls into balls; place on sheet of waxed paper. (If necessary, flour hands to shape balls.)
• In small bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Stir in vanilla.
• Drop balls 1 at a time into meringue. With spoon, coat well to form 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheets. Swirl top of meringue with spoon.
• Bake 30 minutes or until meringue snowballs are crisp. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Steps:

• Peel and dry pistachios:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Drop nuts into boiling water and cook 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and transfer to a bowl of ice and water to stop cooking. Drain in colander again. Peel off skins and pat nuts dry, then spread in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan.
• Bake in middle of oven until dry and lightly toasted, about 7 minutes, then cool. Coarsely chop 2 tablespoons nuts and leave remaining nuts whole.
• Make pistachio cream:
• Finely grind whole pistachios with 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor. Add 3 tablespoons milk and process to a paste. Blend in 5 tablespoons milk and transfer pistachio cream to a bowl. Chill, covered, 8 hours.
• Make "eggs":
• Whisk together 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 3 1/2 cups milk in a deep 12-inch skillet and bring to a bare simmer (milk should steam but not bubble).
• While milk is heating, beat whites with lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, a little at a time, and beat until meringue just holds stiff peaks.
• Using an oval-shaped ice cream scoop or an oval soupspoon, form 8 meringue "eggs," gently dropping them as formed into milk mixture (keep milk at a bare simmer). Poach meringues until set on bottom, about 2 minutes, then carefully turn over and poach until set throughout, about 2 minutes more. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plastic-wrap-lined shallow baking pan and make 8 more meringues in same manner.
• Make custard:
• Pour poaching liquid through a very fine sieve into a large glass measure. Whisk together yolks, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then slowly add poaching liquid, whisking constantly. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it's thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not boil).
• Pour custard into a metal bowl and stir in pistachio cream and almond extract. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool custard, stirring occasionally. Pour custard through very fine sieve into another bowl, pressing on and discarding solids.
• Assemble dessert:
• Melt chocolate in a small metal bowl set over a small saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.
• Pour custard into 8 shallow bowls or rimmed plates and arrange meringues on top. Drizzle chocolate over meringues and custard and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Steps:

• Make snow pudding:
• Stir gelatin into cold water in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in hot water, sugar, and lemon zest and juice until sugar has dissolved. Set bowl in an ice bath and stir often until mixture is cold and thickened (consistency will be similar to that of raw egg whites), about 45 minutes.
• Beat gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until very frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat whites until they hold soft peaks.
• Add whites to gelatin mixture and beat at high speed until tripled in volume and thick enough to form a wide flat ribbon that holds its shape on top of mixture when beater is lifted, about 5 minutes (longer if using a hand-held mixer). Transfer to a large serving bowl and chill until set, about 3 hours.
• Make custard while snow pudding sets:
• Bring milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
• Put yolks in a small bowl. Strain milk mixture through a sieve into another bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding basil, and return to saucepan. Whisk about 1/2 cup warm milk mixture into yolks, then whisk into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Transfer custard sauce to a bowl and chill, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 2 hours.
• Assemble dessert:
• Spoon snow pudding into glasses or bowls and top with custard sauce.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until golden and fragrant, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly; chop.
• Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a mixer set over a pot of simmering water (do not let bottom touch water). Whisk until eggs are foamy and sugar dissolves (mixture should feel smooth and warm to the touch when rubbed between your fingers). Transfer to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add cream of tartar, and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, 7 to 9 minutes.
• Combine hazelnuts, fruits, and candied citron and peel in a bowl. Fold maraschino syrup and all but 1/4 cup of fruit-nut mixture into meringue. Drop heaping tablespoons of meringue mixture onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Top with remaining fruit-nut mixture.
• Bake, rotating sheets and rack positions halfway through, until meringues have darkened slightly and are tacky on surfaces but no longer sticky, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Turn oven off (do not open door); let cool in oven until dry and crisp on outsides, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature, between sheets of parchment, up to 5 days. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.