Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

Meringata (literally "meringued" – with meringue on it or in it) is the Italian adjectival form of the word meringa meaning meringue. It refers to any type of cake or dessert with a meringue topping or meringue mixed into it such as Meringata di limone (lemon meringue pie) or Meringata di panna (Meringue cream gateaux, pie or other dessert), for which there is no one recipe, the name covering many entirely different confections, one of which is similar to Pavlova, an Australian/New Zealand meringue cake consisting of wheels of meringue layered with whipped cream. As a rule, meringate (plural of meringata), in common with most meringue confections, should be assembled a short time prior to consumption, otherwise the meringue will dissolve in the liquid in the filling.

See also:

Meringata alla panna

Cream filled meringue gateaux

Ingredients

For the meringues:

  • 8 oz. (1 cup) (400 g) egg whites
  • 16 oz. (2 cups) (800 g) caster (superfine) sugar

For the filling:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup crème pâtissière
  • 2 egg whites (75 g)
  • 5 oz. (150 g) sugar
  • 3 Tbs. (50 ml) water

Procedure

For the meringue discs and individual meringues:

  1. Following the recipe for Swiss meringue, whisk the 6 ozs. egg whites to soft peaks, then add the 12 ozs. sugar little by little, to form firm peaks.
  2. Beat the egg whites over simmering water to 120ºF (50ºC).
  3. Remove from the heat and continue beating until the meringue is cool.
  4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw two 10 inch circles on the paper.
  5. Using a pastry bag pipe a spiral beginning in the centre of the circle and working outwards to form a disc of about ½ inch thick.
  6. Repeat with the other circle.
  7. With the remaining meringue, pipe 20 small meringues using a star tip.
  8. Bake the meringues for 2 to 2½ hours at 200ºF to 225ºF (110ºC) until crisp but not brown. For a whiter meringue, bake at 180ºF (80ºC) overnight.

For the filling:

  1. With the egg yolks left over from the meringue, make a crème pâtissière – <<click here for recipe>>
  2. With the 5 ozs. sugar, 3 tablespoonsful water and the 2 egg whites, Follow the recipe for Italian meringue. Refrigerate to cool thoroughly.
  3. Whip the cream and when it is mounted, fold in the cold pastry cream followed by the Italian meringue. Refrigerate until ready to proceed with the assembly.

Simplified method:

  1. Whip 1 cup half-and-half together with one small vanilla instant pudding.
  2. Make a common meringue with the egg white and sugar.
  3. Whip the cream and when it is mounted, fold in the vanilla instant pudding followed by the common meringue. Refrigerate until ready to proceed with the assembly.

Assembly:

  1. Spread one half of the filling on one of the meringue discs.
  2. Place the second disc on top and cover the second disc with the rest of the filling.
  3. Arrange the small meringues in concentric circles on top of the meringata.
  4. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Meringata alla panna con zenzero – Meringata with ginger and cream

Ingredients

  • 1 container store-bought meringues OR make your own – <<recipe>>
  • 1 cup preserved ginger, cut into small pieces
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 Tbs. powdered sugar
  • 1 lemon

Procedure

  1. Chop the ginger up.
  2. Grate the zest and juice the lemon. Strain the juice and mix with the zest.
  3. Mix the juice and zest with the heavy cream.
  4. Whip the cream to soft peaks.
  5. Fold in the powdered sugar.
  6. Mix the ginger into the cream.
  7. Crumble the meringues and mix into the cream. Do this just before serving.
  8. Serve immediately, otherwise the meringue will dissolve in the cream over time.

Meringata di frutta in coppa – Fruit and cream with meringue in a goblet

A quick and easy meringata is made as follows:

Ingredients

  • Vanilla cream, home-made or store-bought, as needed
  • Any fruit of choice or a mixture – berries, deciduous or tropical fruits, as needed
  • Crème chantilly, as needed
  • crumbled meringues, as needed

Procedure

  1. In a Martini glass or parfait glass, spoon a few tablespoonsful of vanilla cream into the bottom of the glass.
  2. Cover the custard with any fruit of choice, leaving enough room for the topping.
  3. Cover the fruit with créme chantilly and sprinkle crumbled meringue chips on top.
  4. Serve with a sprig of mint or basil and drizzle with raspberry coulis or other topping of choice.
This article is issued from Wikibooks. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.