Meringue is a delightful food. Soft, airy and sweet it has been used since about the 1720s in confections around the world. Most home cooks are familiar with the meringue sitting loftily atop a lemon meringue pie, often speckled with tans and dark browns from baking. In musing about a new dessert I wanted to create this week, my mind landed on a meringue topping. But I took issue with the well-known meringue version (a French-style meringue) due to its particular texture and "bright" sweetness. Let's dive into meringues!
The problem: I wanted a marshmallow textured, meringue topped dessert. A light, sweet, thick, baked meringue to compliment a sweet-tart filling and a nutty crust giving deep notes of sweet and salty. French-style meringues tend to be too airy after a quick bake and the general use of white sugar in common meringues leaves it tasting "bright" and very forward in sweetness.
The fix: Swiss style meringues made with a base of dark brown sugar + some kosher salt to mellow the flavor further and some cream of tartar to add stability.
I wanted to create a new dessert this week (well, for me it's new - I'm sure there is something similar out there but this was created by a want for a flavor combo) that had deep flavors but a light topping. My mind immediately went to meringues. This thought was inspired by my mother who, being so happy I was living in the same state as her once again, made mini lemon meringue pies to celebrate.
French meringues, while well known and versatile, didn't quite meld with what I needed. Since I was out of quarantine and could be back in the kitchen it was back to testing! There are 3 styles of meringues out there, all made in slightly different methods but all with similar ingredients. White sugar and egg whites are the main players, and many recipes add in salt and/or cream of tartar as helpers. Salt helps to balance the sweetness a little. Cream of tartar is a dry acid (tartaric acid! thank you winemaking by-product!) to help with stabilization. The acid helps to tighten the egg protein and hold its shape. I wanted to test both sweetness and texture. I wanted ease of making + a deeper sweetness + a marshmallow-like texture.
Test #1, French Meringues - I knew this wasn't what I wanted, but every test needs a control method. To keep things even, every test I did used 2 egg whites, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and a pinch of kosher salt. I beat to stiff peaks (though, admittedly, this has peaks on the "very medium" side...shhhh), piped out 3 mounds on parchment, then baked each mound at 350F for 10 minutes to brown a bit. I cooled, then taste-tested.
These turned out as expected. Very airy in texture, a forward, "bright" sweetness. Good - but not great and not complementary to what I wanted to create.
Test #2, Swiss Meringue - Even though this uses the exact same ingredients, the method is different, yielding different results. The ingredients are first combined in a double boiler and stirred until they are heated to 160F. Then they are moved to the mixer and beaten to stiff peaks. They are then piped and baked.
This results in a very marshmallow-like texture (and flavor if using vanilla!). This is what I wanted. Unfortunately, it does nothing for the taste. Still a bright, forward sweetness. This led to the next test!
Test #3, Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue - I swear it always comes back to brown sugar with me...deep flavor notes, caramel-like taste, pairs with nuts/coffee/salt/dark fruits...just so good.
This turned out to be exactly what I wanted. Rich, marshmallowy texture. A deep (almost muted even though the term seems to contradict "deep") sweetness. Caramel notes that play REALLY well with the salt. SMOOTH. I was so happy with these results.
Brown sugar meringues are not new, but they are lesser-known and I've never used them. I was now ready to create my dessert. As an added bonus, the mixing method means they are already pasteurized if you wish to eat/serve them without baking.
I want to mention a non-tested meringue method. The Italian Meringue. This method also uses the same ingredients, but the method involves getting a sugar syrup to exactly 240F, then drizzling this into mostly beaten egg whites until stiff. While definitely a viable method with probably similar results to the Swiss method, I feel the process is a bit more involved and exact than I would like. My mission is to show great results through solid, reproducible methods that will draw in beginners and delight intermediates. Candy making methods (240F is the soft ball stage), blistering hot dangers when pouring into a high-speed mixer, and a very possible chance of cooked egg white bits in the mix just don't meet my criteria. So I decided to pass this one over as I have made many in my life and am quite familiar with the process.
The final desserts are what I call "Cherry Meringue Cups". There is a pistachio/graham/brown sugar crust, a dark cherry filling (sweet but also tart), and the brown sugar swiss meringue with a touch of almond extract. The filling and crust can be frozen until ready if you want to shorten the process a little or bake later. I utilized a cupcake pan for these to make the assembly easy using common pans.
Download your {picture heavy version} or {printer friendly version} and get to baking this weekend. Have these with an espresso or black coffee to be in bliss. I'd love to hear how things turned out and if you like my creation.
