Oh, my! Meringue!

Today was a good day.  It's Sunday, for starters, which means that I had a big, fat nothing on the schedule. The sun was shining, which meant that the kids could play outside instead of running like donkeys around the house.  We had a great dinner where nothing got spilled, and this morning I got to bake.  That was DEFINITELY the best part.  Especially since it means that after our great dinner, I had one of these waiting for me:

That, my friends, is no joke.  Will you take a look at that?  I had that for dessert.

It was all about meringue today.  Light, fluffy, crunchy and intensely sweet meringue.  And also, it was about berries cooked down to a sweet, jammy sauce.  Oh, AND the most amazing sweet-but-not dollop of whipped cream & créme fraîche.  Are you a little jealous yet?  Here, let's take another look, just so you're clear what we're dealing with here.

Can you see what's happening in there?  See the berries and whipped cream dripping down the sides? This is one big fabulous mess.

These are a stupendously simple cupcake to make, but for some reason the concept seemed to confuse everyone I tried to explain it to (love you, mom!).  Although, to be fair, the concept IS a little unusual.  See, there is no actual cake involved in these cupcakes.  Instead, meringue is piped directly into paper-lined cupcake tins, filling the cup and then continuing on up as if it was a humongous swirl of frosting.  The "cake" gets baked (for three hours, ack!), cooled, and when it's time for dessert, each one gets cut in half horizontally and filled with berry compote and whipped cream before the top is put back on.  These are an eat-with-a-fork and be-prepared-for-a-mess kind of dessert, but listen....they are really, really good.

The whipped cream is a little different than any I've made before, and I was a little skeptical after I tasted it alone.  It's an unsweetened blend of créme fraîche and heavy cream, all whipped to soft peaks.  By itself, I thought it tasted altogether too cheesy or créme fraîche-y or something, but combined with the sweet berries and sweeter meringue, it is sublime.  The three ingredients really work together to create something that is pretty amazing.  Tart berries, cloud-like whipped cream, crunchy meringue.  There's something for everyone here, folks.  Martha (and I) got a good do on it this time.  

I would absolutely make these again, particularly if I was having people over for dinner and wanted a show-stopper of a dessert (because I have SO MANY amazing dinner parties where I need a show-stopper dessert).   These do take quite a while to bake, but the meringue is super easy to whip together, and once they're in the oven they're basically no-fuss.  All components can be made ahead of time and assembled at the last minute, although I would probably just make the whipped cream by hand right before serving.  It only takes a minute or two, less if you're like me and make your husband do it.

So the final word here is that these cupcakes were big winners.  I'm very happy with the final product, they were easy-peasy to assemble, looked every bit as chic as Martha's version, and most importantly, they made the perfect ending to what turned out to be a very nice day, indeed.

This one's a keeper.

Meringue Cupcakes with Berry Compote

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 225º

Makes 12

Line every other cup of  two standard cupcake tins with papers (so meringues cook evenly) and coat inside of each paper with cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk on medium-high speed until frothy:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Add, 1 Tbsp at a time, beating 2 minutes and scraping down sides after each addition:

1 3/4 cups sugar

Continue whisking until stiff, glossy (but not dry) peaks form.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler (no tip) and pipe into each prepared cup, filling each two about 2 inches above the rim and swirling to a peak.  Clean around the edges of the tins so that none of the meringue is touching the pan.  Bake until meringues are just beginning to color and are dry on the outside but still soft in the middle (a toothpick test through the side will have moist but cooked crumbs attached), 3 to 3 1/4 hours, rotating tins after 90 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately remove meringues from tins and peel off liners.  Let cool on a wire rack.

To finish, whisk together until soft peaks form:

1 cup créme fraîche

1/2 cup heavy cream 

Using a serrated knife, gently saw through the cupcake at the halfway point.  Spoon some compote over bottom and top with whipped cream mixture.  Replace top and serve.

Strawberry and Raspberry Compote

makes enough for 12 cupcakes

In a nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer:

10 oz fresh strawberries (I used thawed frozen), rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3/4 cup.

Let cool completely before stirring in:

6 oz fresh raspberries (again, I used thawed and drained frozen)

Refrigerate up to 1 day in an airtight container.