The Catalan TableIngredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- 6 merenguesSwiss meringue
- 120 g (about 4 eggs)
- 240 grams
- a teaspoon coffee
Step-by-step Guide
Note
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature before beginning to cook, especially the eggs and butter.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for at least 10 minutes to reach the proper temperature.
- Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and pale in color.
- Gradually add the sifted flour to the egg mixture, folding gently to maintain volume.
- Incorporate the melted butter, which should be warm, into the previous mixture and stir gently until well combined.
- Grease a round pan with a little butter and dust with flour to prevent the cake from sticking during baking.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing it from the pan to ease the process and prevent it from breaking.
- Serve the cake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top or accompanied by fresh fruits for a fresh and decorative touch.
Half
- First, poach in a bain-marie until reaching 55 ºC, ensuring that this temperature is maintained constantly.
Texture
- The texture should be more consistent than French cream, but less than Italian. Cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches this consistency.
Usage
- No need to bake, as it can be eaten directly since the mixture is somewhat cooked. It is ready for immediate use.
- Ideal for filling and decorating cakes that do not require baking, like cold cheesecakes or mousses.
- Can be added to mousses to provide consistency and a hint of soft sweetness.
- Swiss Meringue: A more stable option than French meringue. It is prepared by first dissolving the sugar with the egg whites in a bain-marie at low heat until reaching 60 °C (never exceed 60 °C). It is essential to stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, transfer the egg whites to a dry bowl and whisk them with beaters on high speed until stiff peaks form. This type of meringue is used for preparations that do not require baking or to decorate cakes that will not be baked.
- The egg whites should be at room temperature and must not contain any traces of yolk to ensure they whip up properly.
- Strain the egg whites through a fine sieve to remove any impurities and ensure a smooth texture in the final result.
- Ensure that the mixing bowl is completely dry, with not a drop of water that could affect the whipping of the egg whites.
- There should also be no traces of fat in the bowl, as fat hampers the whipping of the egg whites. Ingredients for Swiss meringue: 6 egg whites (approximately 120 g from 4 eggs), 240 g of white sugar, water, and a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Swiss Meringue Preparation
- We will need two saucepans, one small and one larger, to prepare the Swiss meringue.
- Place the larger saucepan on the heat with water to create a bain-marie. Ideally, the small saucepan should not touch the boiling water, allowing the egg whites to cook from the steam. You can try placing an upside-down cup inside the larger saucepan so it stands above the water and acts as a support for the small saucepan, but if that's not possible, proceed traditionally, only using the steam.
- Put the egg whites and sugar into the small saucepan and stir constantly to dissolve the sugar, until the egg whites reach 60°C. The egg whites will cook but not curdle. Do not exceed 60°C to avoid curdling the egg whites.
- Once they reach 60°C, remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the egg whites to the mixer bowl. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to stabilize the mixture.
- Begin to beat the egg whites at medium speed until they start to thicken.
- Keep the mixer running, whisking, until the moment you touch the bowl and it no longer feels warm to the touch.
- When the meringue has a dense texture and forms peaks that do not fall when lifting the beaters, or if you turn the bowl upside down and it does not fall, remove the bowl from the machine and gently fold with a spatula from the edges towards the center to thoroughly homogenize the mixture.
- Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip and you're ready to fill a cake or make individual meringues.
- If making individual meringues, they can be consumed directly without baking. They can be decorated by dusting with sifted cocoa powder on top, or slightly torching the peaks with a blowtorch or broiling them at 250°C (broiler only) for about 3 minutes.
- Alternatively, bake them at 90°C-100°C for 2-3 hours (120-180 minutes). They should not be cooked, only dried until crispy.
- This meringue can be used as a topping for a cake that doesn't require baking, offering a smooth and light texture.
- This meringue can be stored in the refrigerator inside the pastry bag until the next day, ensuring that it maintains its consistency until it's time to use it.
Recommendations & Tricks
- Scald the bain-marie until it reaches 55ºC before adding the egg whites, to prevent cooking them too soon.
- Keep stirring constantly while dissolving the sugar into the egg whites in the bain-marie until it reaches exactly 60ºC; a kitchen thermometer can be very useful here.
- Whip the egg whites once the sugar is dissolved, using a perfectly dry bowl to ensure you achieve a firm meringue.
- Use Swiss meringue to fill and decorate cakes that will not be baked; its slightly cooked touch allows it to be consumed directly.
- Try combining Swiss meringue with butter to create delicious buttercreams, designed to fill or cover cakes.
- Add small amounts of Swiss meringue to mousses to give them a lighter and airier texture.