Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 10 September 1949, page 53


. Meringues Meringue mix-tures, sweet or savory, are popular and have the added advantage of being decorative.

By Our Food and Cookery

Experts

THE secret of making meringues lies in the beating, for, unless the whites of the eggs arc stiffly beaten before cooking, they will not hold the desired shape.

Slow cooking is important. Too

much heat will harden and dis-color the meringue.

Points to remember:

. Use fresh eggs. Stale ones have a thinner white which does not respond to beating.

. Separate the whites from the yolks carefully, as the smallest speck of yolk will prevent the white from fluffing.

. Eggs are easier to separate when they are cold, but they beat up more rapidly when warmer, so if they are taken from a refrigerator separate them at once, but leave the whites in a basin until room tempera-ture is reached before beating.

. Choose a large basin, warm it slightly, and use a perfectly dry

whisk.

. See that the sugar is free from lumps.

. Proportion of sugar to egg whites: For a fluffy topping on a pie or pudding use 1 tablespoon to each egg-white. For a meringue shell use

THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY

four tablespoons to each egg

white.

Add the sugar gradually, beating

after each addition.

When spreading the meringue over the pie, tart, or pudding, be sure it touches the pastry rim or it will shrink away while baking.

JELLY CASTLE MERINGUES

Three egg-whites, pinch salt, 6oz. crystal sugar, squeeze lemon juice, vanilla,1½ cups fruit salad, 2-3rd cup liquid lemon jelly, same quantity of raspberry and green jelly, whipped

cream or substitute to decorate.

Set jellies in tiny individual moulds (rinsed with cold water). If tiny moulds are not available egg cups may be used. Prepare meringue

cases.

Beat egg-whites stiffly with salt; gradually add sugar, beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture holds its

shape, add vanilla and lemon juice. Spoon or pipe on to greased oven trays, making hollow cases about 3½ to 4in. in diameter. Bake in slow oven until crisp and dry. Cool. Fill with fruit salad. Unmould jellies, place one on top of fruit salad in each meringue case. Decorate with chopped jelly, whipped cream or

substitute.

-September 10, 1949

PEPPERMINT ICE-CREAM

One pint fresh milk, 4 heaped tablespoons powdered milk, 2 table-spoons condensed milk, 2 teaspoons gelatine dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water, few drops oil of pep-permint or peppermint essence.

Warm milk, beat in powdered milk, condensed milk, and dissolved gelatine. Beat 5 or 6 minutes. Pour into refrigerator trays, freeze until starting to thicken around edges. Re-turn to basin, beat 5 minutes longer. Fold in peppermint, return to trays,

freeze until firm.

NOUGAT FRUIT PAVLOVA

Four egg-whites, 8oz. crystal sugar, 1 tablespoon cornflour, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, green coloring.

Filling: Two ounces cake crumbs or fine breadcrumbs, 2oz. sugar, 2oz. coconut, 1 oz. chopped nuts, 1 des-sertspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon apricot jam, 1 cup fruit salad, whipped cream or substitute, glace or maraschino cherries to decorate.

Beat egg-whites stiffly, gradually add sugar. Beat until all sugar is dissolved and mixture holds its shape. Fold in cornflour, lemon juice, col

oring. Pipe or spoon to form an 8in. circle or loin, ring on greased paper or flat oven tray. Pipe or spoon sides to a height of 2in. Meringue will spread slightly during cooking. Bake in very slow oven (275deg. F. gas) or in stored heat of electric oven (both elements off) until crisp and dry—1½ to 2 hours. Allow to cool, carefully remove paper. Pre-pare filling.

Filling: Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Fill into cooled meringue case, decorate with cream

and cherries.

STRAWBERRY WHIP PAVLOVA

One meringue made and baked as in recipe for nougat fruit pavlova, ½ packet strawberry jelly crystals, ¾ cup hot water, ½ cup chopped or crushed strawberries, whole straw-berries and mint or strawberry leaves to garnish.

Make meringue case and cool. Dis-solve jelly crystals in hot water. When cold and beginning to thicken, whip with rotary beater until mix-ture holds its shape and is light and fluffy. Fold in strawberries, fill into meringue case. Chill until filling is

set. Decorate with whole straw-berries and mint or strawberry leaves. May be served with whipped cream or substitute, or ice-cream.

THE SAVORY TART illustrated above is garnished with tomato and has a topping of cheesed meringue. Nougat and straw-berry whip makes the Pavlova cakes, and the jelly castles have cases of meringue as a foundation.

CHOCOLATE CHIP

MERINGUES

Four egg-whites, pinch salt, 8oz. crystal sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, few drops vanilla essence, ¾ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate.

Beat egg-whites with pinch of salt until very stiff. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar is dissolved and mixture holds its shape. Pipe with large plain pipe, or spoon on to well-greased oven trays. (Meringues spread ½in. to ¾in. dur-ing cooking time, so space well apart.) Bake in slow oven (300deg. F. gas, 350deg. F. electric) approxi-mately 1 hour until crisp and dry in the centre. Join two together with peppermint-flavored ice-cream. Serve

in small sweets dishes with extra peppermint ice-cream and chocolate

sauce.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Three tablespoons cocoa, ¼ cup water, ½ cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon condensed milk, 1 dessert-spoon margarine or butter, vanilla

to taste.

Blend cocoa to a smooth paste with water. Bring to boiling point with milk and sugar; simmer 5 min-utes. Beat in condensed milk, mar-garine or butter, and vanilla, simmer 2 minutes longer. Serve hot or cold

as desired.

Continued on page 54

MERINGUES

Continued from page 53

SAVORY MERINGUE TART

One cooked 8in. savory pastry case, ¾ cup cooked corn (or drained tinned corn), 2 medium-sized toma-toes, 1 tablespoon margarine or good clean fat, 2 hard-boiled eggs, salt and pepper to taste, 1 dessertspoon grated onion, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 egg-whites, 1 tablespoon cornflour, 2 tablespoons finely grated

cheese.

Spread corn over base of pastry case, first brushing case with a little egg-white. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, then add half onion and half parsley. Slice tomatoes, fry lightly on both sides in hot margar-ine or fat. Place tomatoes on top of corn, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and balance of onion and parsley. Slice hard-boiled eggs, arrange on top of tomatoes. Beat egg-whites until very stiff with a pinch of salt. Beat in cornflour, pile on top of tart. Sprinkle lightly with grated cheese. Bake in very moderate oven ( 325deg. F. gas, 375deg. F. electric) until filling is heated through and meringue very lightly browned. Gar-nish with tomato wedges and parsley.

Serve hot or cold.