Best Swiss Meringue For Lemon Blackberry And Meringue Parfait Recipes

LEMON, BLACKBERRY, AND MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with an Ateco #22 star tip; fill with meringue. Pipe 12 to 16 long swirly shapes onto one of the prepared sheets. Gently spread remaining meringue 3/4 inch thick onto the other.
• Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 175 degrees; continue baking until meringue is dry but still white, 35 minutes more, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Set aside swirls; crumble meringue sheet.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine creme fraiche and 1 cup lemon curd; refrigerate until ready to use.
• To assemble parfaits, layer creme-fraiche mixture, crumbled meringue, and blackberries in serving glasses. Spoon some of the remaining 1/2 cup lemon curd into each glass. Top with whipped cream; garnish with meringue swirls. Serve immediately.

LEMON MERINGUE PARFAITS

Steps:

• Divide sherbet among four 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups; cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until very firm, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer on low speed, gradually add sugar (about 1 tablespoon every 20 seconds); continue beating until peaks are stiff and glossy.
• With a flexible spatula, mound meringue on sherbet; swirl and spread to edges of ramekins with the back of a spoon. Place on a baking sheet; bake until meringue is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

LEMON MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• For the graham cracker crust: Weigh and mix your dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a stand mixer, cream the butter with both sugars and honey until thoroughly combined. Add to the butter/sugar mixture until just combined. Roll between two pieces of parchment paper to a ¼-inch thickness. Freeze 20 minutes. Note: Please refer to the written recipe for measurements as they've been adjusted from the video.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove top sheet of parchment and bake 30 minutes until brown. When cool, break up pieces and pulse in a food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside at room temperature.
• For the lemon curd: In a saucepan whisk eggs, sugar and lemon juice and slowly bring to a boil, stirring the whole time (to prevent the eggs from cooking). Place through a strainer with a ladle or a China cap into a blender and with the motor on, add butter, a little at a time until emulsified. Set aside.
• For the Swiss meringue: Place egg whites and sugar in a bowl set over simmering water and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until soft peaks form. Set aside. Note: Please refer to the written recipe for measurements as they've been adjusted from the video. To assemble: Place graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of a serving glass and layer lemon curd followed by more graham cracker crumbs 3 times. Top with a dollop of meringue. Run a kitchen torch across the top for a toasty finish.

BERRY LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 10-inch round cake pans; line with parchment. Butter parchment, then dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla seeds. In a separate bowl, toss together blueberries and cornstarch.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until well combined. Continue beating while gradually adding butter until mixture is crumbly, about 3 minutes.
• Slowly add half of milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add remaining half of milk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat until incorporated, about 1 minute more. Remove bowl from mixer; fold in blueberries.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, spreading to edges with a small offset spatula. Tap pans on counter to release any air bubbles. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean and tops are lightly golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool completely. Turn cakes out of pans and remove parchment.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 6 egg whites, and a pinch of salt in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch and feels completely smooth when rubbed between fingertips, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whisk on low speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium-high until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture has cooled completely, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; add 4 sticks butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking until fully incorporated after each addition. (Don't worry if buttercream appears curdled after all of butter has been added; it will become smooth again with beating.) Whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• Switch to paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until air bubbles are eliminated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic, and let stand at room temperature. Repeat process twice more with remaining ingredients, using the same amounts each time, then combining all three batches of buttercream in the large bowl and covering with plastic. Remove 2 cups buttercream; set aside.
• Fold jam into large bowl of buttercream. Add burgundy food color, a drop at a time, until desired color is reached.
• Assembly:Place a cake layer, bottom-side down, on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread about 1 1/2 cups buttercream over it; top with a second cake layer, bottom-side down, and another 1 1/2 cups buttercream. Finish with a third cake layer, bottom-side up. Evenly spread top and sides of cake with a 1/2-inch thickness of buttercream, smoothing with an offset spatula.
• Divide remaining buttercream among three bowls, then lighten each with some of the reserved 2 cups white buttercream, creating different shades. Transfer to pastry bags fitted with open and closed star tips in a variety of sizes. Pipe swirls and rosettes of buttercream on top of cake. Frosted cake can be refrigerated overnight; bring to room temperature and top with berries before serving.