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I even thought about telling you that I made these lovely French Meringues because they were "French" and that's what a blog with the name The Café Sucré Farine should be posting for Valentine's Day. That would be the proper thing to do, right? The truth of the matter was, I was totally out of butter!
I wanted to make a few Valentine treats to take to my son and daughter-in-law. We were invited for dinner on Sunday evening, so I got up early that morning to get started before church. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make, so I thought I'd check first to see what ingredients I had to work with. I was super shocked to discover that there was NO butter! I usually keep a good supply of basic pantry supplies, but somehow, the butter had dwindled down to nothing unnoticed.
What was I to do? How could I make yummy Valentine's treats with NO butter? Being too lazy to run to the market (only 3 blocks away), I put on my thinking cap and checked out other ingredients that were available; sugar, flour, eggs, chocolate, citrus fruits, fresh strawberries, whipping cream and lots of condiments, like mustards, vinegars and in the freezer, a bunch of jars of Strawberry Jam.
I set to work - I whipped up the meringues and while they baked, I made the ganache and got ready for church. I let the meringues sit in the oven to cool till we returned home around lunch time. After that it was simply a matter of throwing the ganache into a zip lock bag, piping a dollop onto half of the meringues and giving each one a pretty top. The result -Oh my! I think you're going to love these melt-in-your-mouth treats. But be sure to make plenty, they'll go like hot cakes!
- For the meringues
- 4 egg whites
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- For the ganache
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons strained strawberry jam
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate finely chopped
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Preheat oven to 150˚F*. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper (love this parchment paper from Costo. It lasts FOREVER!). With a pen, trace around a small round object (I used the top of a spice container, about 2-inches in diameter). Repeat tracing circles, leaving 1-inch in between, till parchment paper is filled. (I put about 18 on each sheet.) Repeat with second sheet pan. Set aside.
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Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until light and foamy.
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With mixer on low speed, add vanilla then, very slowly, add powdered sugar. Once all sugar has been added, set speed at medium and beat for 20 minutes. Mixture will be very thin at first, but will get quite thick, smooth and satiny.
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At this point you can either spoon the egg white mixture in mounds onto prepared cookie sheets or spoon mixture into a decorating bag (super cheap per bag!!) or a gallon size zippered bag fitted with a 2D Wilton tip (also called a drop petal tip) If using a zippered bag simply snip a tiny cut off one corner. Place 2D tip into bag and slip into corner opening then fill bag with egg mixture.
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To pipe meringues: start in center of one circle and swirl outward in a circular motion till circle is filled with meringue. Repeat till all circles are filled. For a great video tutorial on how to do this type of swirling, check this out.
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Bake for 2 hours or until meringues are crisp. Turn oven off and leave meringues in oven till completely cool. Remove from oven when cool .
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For the ganache and the final step for the meringues. While meringues are baking, prepare ganache; place jam and cream in a medium size microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 1 minute**. Add the chocolate chips and allow to heat for 3 minutes. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour to thicken ganache***.
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Remove from refrigerator and whip the ganache for 5 minutes or until it's light, fluffy and color lightens slightly. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. (For "multi-colored effect see tip**** below.) Pipe (or spoon) a quarter size (or larger, if you want a thicker filling) onto half of the cookies Top with remaining cookies and compress gently till filling spreads to edges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set ganache.
Notes:
* ~ If your oven temperature doesn't run this low, set it for the lowest temperature and prop the door open slightly with a wooden spoon while baking.
** ~ If you don't have a microwave, place jam and cream in a small saucepan. Heat until tiny bubbles are just starting to rise to the surface. Turn off heat, add chocolate chips and allow to sit for 3 minutes, then stir with a whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
*** ~ If ganache becomes too thick in refrigerator (meaning it becomes a solid mass and won't come out of the bowl), microwave it for about 10 seconds to soften slightly before mixing.
**** ~ You can add a few drops of pink food coloring to meringues or, for the swirled or striped effect you see in the photos, paint a few thin strips of gel food coloring on the inside of your decorating bag, starting at the tip end and painting about halfway up the bag.
Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking says
These are absolutely gorgeous!
Valerie says
Beautiful!! I would almost hate to bite into one. 😀
Manju says
they look simply fabulous!! Loved the color contrast ...awesome job!
Regards,
Manju
http://manjuseatingdelights.blogspot.com
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
They are just beautiful Chris! Good thing you had no butter or you might not have come up with these.
Martha says
they look/sound fabulous! who needs butter? 🙂
Pam says
They look so beautiful and delicious.
The Café Sucré Farine says
I do love that 2D tip, it makes me look like a pro which is quite a stretch from the truth! 🙂
Pondside says
My daughter has such a sweet tooth - I may just pass this post along to her and hope for results!
The Mom Chef says
Chris, they're amazing. So, so beautiful. I don't know that I could bite into one at all! And no fat? Yeah, you're healthy. 🙂
Jo Anne Tell says
Another beautiful dessert! FYI, your ganache recipe has raspberry jam listed instead of strawberry...just thought you might like to know 😀
The Café Sucré Farine says
hehe, I just did that to see if you were going to be observant Jo Anne! 🙂 Not really, I do appreciate you watching over me!
jabreb says
Beautiful! I just sent my BFF a copy of the pictures and instructions - like myself, she will love them! Thanks for sharing the recipe. The instructions remind me of a combination of French Macarons (the round circle piping instructions) and the Ombre Cake (swirled rose) that is so popular right now.
Munatycooking says
Oh they look gorgeous! So romantic and Perfect for valentine 🙂
shannon millisor says
Those are beautiful!
Vicki V @ blestnest.blogspot.com says
After re-reading your recipe, I think you need to either change the title or the jam. Strawberry vs. raspberry.
The Café Sucré Farine says
Another set of watchful eyes, you could definitely make this with raspberry jam and it is quite delicious that way but I used strawberry this time so I have fixed my error. THANKS!
Vicki V @ blestnest.blogspot.com says
Just gorgeous!
Gloria says
look beautiful!! I love them!!
Vicki Bensinger says
These are beautiful Chris. Don't you just love making those rosé swirls? They make everything so pretty!
Hovkonditorn says
Oh, Chris these are so beautiful!
Foodycat says
So pretty! What a lovely treat. I ran out of butter yesterday too - I don't know how it happened!
Angie's Recipes says
What a sweet and romantic post! The meringue roses are gorgeous.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
These are so pretty, Chris! What a perfect Valentine's treat! 🙂
Sandra Lee says
Running out of butter has left me scrambling for ideas more times than I care to mention. You came up with a beautiful alternative and so perfect for Valentine's Day.
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
OMG, these are stunning, Chris! Pinned!
Tricia @ saving room for dessert says
I ran out of butter this weekend too but had to go buy some 🙂 These are incredible - really, really beautiful! I also appreciate the video - so cool! Congratulations on another beautiful post!
Tricia @ saving room for dessert says
Let me just say. I have been to this post about 5 times already. These are some of the most beautiful cookies I've ever seen! Really terrific. You did a fantastic job!
Jennifer@ Peanut Butter and Peppers says
Gorgeous! Chris, these are one of the most beautiful cookies I have ever seen! I just love the colors of them and the chocolate in the middle! Yes please!!!