Thursday, April 15, 2010

Strawberries and Chocolate

Strawberries were very cheap this week, so I bought three pounds...and I decided to do something with them sooner rather than later, thereby reducing the chances that I'd end up with some really gunky-looking strawberries.  Sadly, I have been known to be that delinquent on occasion.  And what goes better with strawberries than chocolate?  Furthermore, the only thing that complements chocolate better, I would argue, would be raspberries!  But alas, raspberries are barely affordable right now so this is a pointless discussion.  Let's stick to strawberries.


So I googled "strawberry chocolate recipes" and I found the following.  I ended up adapting it because I had no whipped cream (my family would argue I adapted it because I'm fundamentally incapable of following a recipe to the letter), so I'm including both the original recipe and my adaptation of it.


Strawberry Chocolate Meringue


Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla
1 c sugar


It is best to separate the eggs and then let the whites sit until they are at room temperature (they will whip up to more volume) but if you don't have time, please don't let that little detail prevent you from forging ahead anyway.  And be sure to put those yolks in a little bowl in the refrigerator and use them to make a yellow cake, or some really great scrambled eggs (throw in a whole one with the yolks), or use them in cookies, or pancakes, or...you get the idea.


Preheat oven to 300.


Add the cream of tartar and vanilla to the whites and beat till they are foamy. Add sugar, a tablespoon or two at a time, and beat well, till mixture is stiff and glossy and the sugar is no longer grainy (rub a bit of meringue between your fingers to determine this).


Spread meringue on a cookie sheet that has a piece of parchment paper on it, and shape it into a nine-inch circle, building up the sides a bit so you have a nice, shallow bowl shape.


Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Turn off oven and let meringue rest there for another hour.  Remove and cool (in freezer, if you need it to happen quick).


Filling: 
Here is the recipe on-line:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c cocoa
2 T milk
1/2 t vanilla
1 c whipping cream, whipped
Blend cheese, sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla.  Fold in whipped cream and spread this mixture on the meringue.


Here is what I did:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c cocoa
2-3 T yogurt
1/2 t vanilla
Blend all ingredients and spread on meringue.  I only ended up using about half of this mixture.


Next, chop up some strawberries, you will need about 2 cups.  Spread them across the chocolate mixture.


In a small saucepan, combine
1/3 c chocolate chips
1 t shortening
over low heat, melt till smooth (stir all the while).  Drizzle over the strawberries and the edges of the meringue.


Here is the finished product:




Oh.my.goodness was this good!  It was so popular that I decided to make more today, seeing as how I still had half of that chocolate mixture left over, plenty of eggs, and lots of strawberries.  This time I made individual meringues, about 11 of them.  They take less time to bake - maybe 20 minutes or so, but other than that, proceed just as for the large meringue.  Here is what they look like:




You need to make this soon.  Trust me.  And if you live near a Meijer store, strawberries are only a dollar a pound this week.

1 comment:

  1. That sounds sooooo delicious!! I learned to make the meringue shell filled with whipped cream and topped with fruit on a mission trip to New Zealand. They called it "Pavlova", like the ballerina. I just might have to try this awesomely ramped up version!!! ~8o) Jeanyne

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