http://artofglutenfreebaking.com
Art of Gluten-Free Baking
-adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 2
Special Equipment Needed
-a stand mixer is very helpful for this recipe. A hand mixer will do in a pinch.
-candy thermometer is very helpful unless you are familiar with finding the soft-ball stage using the ice water technique (which is actually quite easy)
-freezer-friendly containers for freezing the meringuée
Ingredients
For the Meringue Italienne
2 C granulated sugar
2/3 C water
3/4 C egg whites--about 5-6 large or extra large eggs
big pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Chantilly Meringuée
1 recipe of Meringue Italienne
2 C chilled heavy cream
2-4 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: if you want to make this chocolate, 1/2 C unsweetened chocolate + 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate, chopped)
1) To make the Meringue Italienne
Measure out all the ingredients before you start--this makes the process go much more smoothly
-combine the water and sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium high heat
-do not mix with a spoon, instead, swirl pan slowly by its handle to mix the sugar and water
-continue to swirl the liquid as it comes to a boil
-continue to swirl until it turns from cloudy to clear
-stop swirling pan, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer while you beat the egg whites
-in the bowl of the stand mixer, beat egg whites for about a minute--until they start to become foamy
-add the cream of tarter and salt
-beat, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the egg whites form stiff peaks
-beat in vanilla
-stop beating and go to next step
-remove cover from your sugar syrup, and insert candy thermometer if using
-raise heat and boil rapidly
-when the bubbles start to look thicker, watch the temperature or start dribbling drops into iced water
-boil until the mixture reaches the "soft-ball stage"--when it makes a definite but blobby shape when you try to form it into a ball under the ice water, or 238 degrees on your thermometer
-once the sugar syrup has reached the soft-ball stage, immediately start beating the egg whites again on medium speed
-carefully and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream into the egg white mixture as it beats until you've used all of the sugar syrup
-continue to beat the egg whites on medium high until shiny, stiff peaks form out of the mixture and the bowl is cool to the touch--about 10 minutes
-stop beating and set aside
2) to make the Chantilly Meringuée
-beat the cream until it has doubled in volume (don't beat so long as to turn it into butter)
-beat in vanilla extract
-with a spatula, fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into your Meringue Italienne mixture to lighten it.
-then scoop out the remainder of the whipped cream onto the meringue mixture and fold it in as rapidly and as lightly as possible--you want to try not to deflate the mixture too much
-once the mixture is combined, scoop it into a freezable container (we use a Tupperware container) and place in freezer until you're ready to eat it. It will take a few hours to fully freeze, but even if it's not fully frozen, it will still taste delicious
For the chocolate option:
-when you come to step 2, making the Chantilly Meringuée, melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler or a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until just melted
-beat the melted chocolate into the cream
-then follow the remainder of the Chantilly Meringuée instructions for folding the cream into the meringue mixture
Enjoy!