It’s the holiday season and whether you are working in an office or going over to a friend’s house – this recipe I read about in Martha Stewart is sure to be a hit! The recipe is for “mini peppermint-meringue cups with ganache”! It makes plenty and looks pretty darn cute.
MINI PEPPERMINT-MERINGUE CUPS WITH GANACHE
Total time: 2 hours (until ready to eat)
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 32 pieces
Tip: To give these cups their festive design, paint lines of red gel paste food coloring up the inside of an empty pastry bag before adding the meringue.
INGREDIENTS FOR MERINGUE CUPS:
o Vegetable oil cooking spray
o 3 large egg whites, room temperature
o ¾ cup sugar
o ¼ teaspoon pure peppermint extract
o red gel-paste food coloring (sugarcraft.com)
INGREDIENTS FOR GANACHE:
o 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
o 1 cup heavy cream
Note: add a garnish with 1 large candy cane, finely chopped
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 175°. Trace 16 circles onto each of 2 pieces of parchment using a 1 ¾-inch round cookie cutter, spacing about 2 inches apart. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray and top each with a sheet of parchment, traced side down.
2. Make the meringue cups: heat egg whites and sugar in a heat proof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer. Whisk on medium high-speed until stiff peaks form. Beat in peppermint extract.
3. Using a small food-safe paint brush, paint 3 stripes of red food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch plain round tip. Transfer egg-white mixture to pastry bag (or a large Ziploc baggie with small hole cut at corner); pipe coils to fill each traced circle. Pipe up sides of each to create ¾-inch to 1-inch high cups.
4. Bake until meringue cups are crisp but not browned and lift off parchment easily, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer meringue cups to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, make the ganache: Transfer chocolate to a heat-proof bowl. Bring cream to a gentle simmer in a small sauce-pan over medium heat. Pour over chocolate, and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and cut a small slit in the top. refrigerate until firm, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
6. Stir ganache, and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch open-stir tip. Pipe ganache into the center of each meringue cup. Garnish with candy cane.
…A Yummy Dessert in about 20 MINUTES!
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