Mexican Strawberry Meringue Torte
Source of Recipe
Copyright 1999-2001, Texas Cooking Online, Inc. All rights reserved.
Recipe Introduction
This light and delicious dessert makes a beautiful presentation.
List of Ingredients
3 pints Strawberries, sliced
1/4 Cup Sugar
6 Egg whites from extra large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp Cream of tartar
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 t Almond extract
1 Cup Sugar, preferably superfine sugar (see Note below)
1-1/2 Cup Whipping cream
2 Tbs Confectioner's sugar
4 tsp Triple Sec or Cointreau
Whole, perfect strawberries, with tops, for garnish
Directions:
Recipe
Wash the 3 pints of strawberries, remove tops and slice. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, stir, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 275°F. On a piece of brown Kraft paper (or cut-up grocery bag), make two patterns by drawing circles around the bottom of a round 9-inch cake pan. Trim away all but about 1-1/2-inch of excess. Place patterns on one large or two small baking sheets.
Using your largest mixing bowl, beat egg whites until just frothy. Then, with mixer running, sprinkle in the cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla and almond extracts. Continue beating, gradually adding sugar a tablespoon at a time, and beating until meringue is thick, and has very stiff peaks.
Divide the meringue evenly between the two patterns. Using a spatula or spoon, shape meringue to fill circles and smooth tops, leaving the sides just slightly higher than the centers (centers will rise a bit). Press down firmly with spatula so that meringue makes good contact with paper.
Bake in your preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, turn off the heat, and leave the meringues in the oven for at least 2 hours. (Note: If meringues are on separate oven racks, be sure racks are far enough apart to allow for air circulation.)
When meringues are cooled to room temperature, invert meringues and peel away paper pattern. Meringues are delicate, but can be handled if done carefully. Place one meringue, flat side down, on a serving plate.
Take 1/2 cup of the reserved sweetened strawberries and process 10 or 15 seconds in a blender; do not purée.
With an electric mixer, whip the cream until foamy, then sprinkle in the Confectioner's sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Remove 1-1/4 cup of the whipped cream and place in a small bowl. Fold the puréed strawberries into the cream in the small bowl. Set aside. Fold the liqueur into the remaining whipped cream.
Assemble by spreading the top of the base meringue with the strawberry cream. Place the second meringue on top of the strawberry cream, flat side down. Spread the remaining whipped cream over top and sides of both layers, smoothing and correcting any irregularities in the meringue. Garnish with whole strawberries.
Serve at once, or refrigerate and serve within 1 hour. Cut in wedges and pass with the reserved strawberries.
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Notes: The meringue base may be made in advance and stored up to 2 days in an airtight container or frozen in the container for up to 1 month. Should the meringue feel sticky after storage, crisp it for 5 minutes in a 200°F oven, then turn the oven off and remove the meringue after 20 minutes.
To make superfine sugar, put granulated sugar in your blender and process until it is finely ground.
To get the greatest volume from egg whites, separate them while cold from the refrigerator, then allow them to come to room temperature.
Give powdered egg whites a try. For a product review, see No More Shells.
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