Vanilla Meringue

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Vanilla Meringue

January 18th, 2010 admin

Vanilla Meringue
french vanilla cupcakes with rose meringue?

so, for my friends birthday im baking her cupcakes, she loovves french vanilla cakes, so i looked up some recipes, i found this recipe, and it looked interesting (link http://www.vanillagarlic.com/2007/08/french-vanilla-cupcakes-with-rose.html ) but, i read the comments, and all of them are like “sounds good” there wernet any from people that actually made it, so i was wondering, if anyones tried it, if they would give me and opinon and tips on how to make it better, or if theres any better french vanilla cupcake recipes

French vanilla isn’t actually a type of vanilla, but rather a designation used to describe vanilla recipes that have heavy vanilla scent and contains vanilla grains. The name comes from the French style of making ice cream using egg yolks, cream, and vanilla beans. So when I tried to find a French vanilla cake recipe to study, not surprisingly, there didn’t seem to be any. Anything I did find was just white cake mix with a smattering of random ingredients that varied from almond extract to gross amounts of cornstarch depending which recipe you read. I then decided to make my own and take some inspiration from the ice cream method. I used lots of fresh vanilla, a few extra egg yolks, and a bit of cream with the milk for a rich cake that was moist and dense, yet still had a nice crumb. A simple meringue flavored with a bit of rose water was the perfect finish. Sweet, flavorful, and a nice textural match to the cake. It took many, many, many tries to get this one to come out to something I like and would write up. They still brown a bit around the edges a bit more than I would prefer, but that doesn’t affect the taste at all. In trying to make the cake comparable to a French custard like ice cream, this cake is heavy, dense, and very powerful in flavor. I can see this recipe making for a wonderful layer cake as well. It’s a comforting cupcake perfect for meeting the soon to come chilly winds that will be heralding in the fall.

I love more eggs, so (2 eggs, room temperature) not 1 egg like written on the blog, and it’s a common “French Vanilla Cupcakes With Rose Meringue” recipe, no improvisation

+ French Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Icing

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 c. cake flour, sifted
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 c. whole milk
1 vanilla bean
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. fresh raspberries
1/8 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp raspberry extract
4 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp meringue powder
pinch salt

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with baking cups
-In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and whisk to combine thoroughly.
-Set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
-Add sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
-Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.
-Add innards of vanilla bean and extract.
-Turn mixer to low and alternatively add milk and flour mixture until fully incorporated.
-Using spoon or scoop, divide batter evenly among baking cups (should fill about 3/4 full).
-Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean.
-Remove from oven and let cool completely before icing.
-Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine raspberries, granulated sugar and 1/4 c. water.
-Let boil down, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to stay on back of a spoon, about 10 minutes.
-Remove from heat and pour into a chinois (or very fine strainer) positioned over a small bowl.
-Using back of spoon, push raspberry mixture through the strainer to remove seeds.
-Place raspberry mixture in fridge to cool.
-In large bowl, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt, and whisk to combine.
-Set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixture, combine butter and shortening.
-Stirring on the lowest setting, add vanilla extract and raspberry extract, scraping down sides, to combine well, about 2 minutes.
-Remove raspberry mixture from fridge (should be about room temp or a little cooler), and add 1/8 c. of mixture, stirring to combine thoroughly.
-Keeping mixer on lowest setting, slowly add powdered sugar mixture.
-Once incorporated, slowly add raspberry mixture, 1 Tbsp at a time, to reach desired texture.
-Once cupcakes have cooled, pipe icing on and decorate as desired.