Guys, it’s November! I’m sure you didn’t need me to tell you that, but OMG IT’S ALREADY NOVEMBER! You do know what’s happening this month, right? I’m going to be a mom! I’m so excited!!! My excessive use of exclamation points doesn’t even properly express just how stoked I really am!!!!
It’s actually pretty weird knowing you’re going to be a mom in a few weeks. Kind of like knowing that the Earth is suspended in space, in a single solar system, of which there are billions in the entire Universe . You know it’s true, and you’ve totally accepted is as such, but the thought of it just doesn’t quite fit into your head or something…
I’m weird, I know… 🙂 So let’s just take a look at what I made in November 2014. These recipes are awesome!
1. How to Make French Meringue
This was my last post in the series ‘The Different Kinds of Meringue’. At this point in the series, I had already made a Swiss meringue, which I used to top amazing Mini S’Mores Tarts, and Italian meringue, which I turned into Salted Caramel Macarons. This recipe for French meringue is the easiest meringue recipe in the meringue series (most home bakers are familiar with making it), but it’s just as delicious as the other (cooked) meringues.
It’s quite a lengthy posts, like all of the posts in the meringue series, because I carefully explain every step in the meringue-making process. But don’t worry, there are lots of photos, too!
I decided to make Chocolate Swirl Meringues with this particular batch of French meringue. And yes, that’s today’s post number two…
2. Chocolate Swirl Meringues with a Hint of Cinnamon
These Chocolate Swirl Meringues were just amazing! You only need five ingredients to make them (sugar, egg whites, cocoa powder, cinnamon and vanilla extract) and you can have them baking/drying in the oven within twenty minutes. Of course, it then takes about four hours for these babies to dry until they’re perfectly crisp, but let’s not worry about that too much now, shall we? I mean, what’s four hours in the oven if the end result is so delicious?
One little tip: I used some weird organic kind of sugar when I made these, to which the manufacturer has already added a bit of molasses. If you happen to have a jar of molasses in your pantry, I suggest you add a drop of two to the meringue, because it gives the finished meringues a subtle caramel flavor. It’s the best!
3. Salted Caramel Sauce
I love, love, love salted caramel sauce. I personally like to eat it straight out of the jar, but you can of course do all sorts of things with it: drizzle it over ice cream or pancakes, use it to fill a cake or cupcakes, use it as a dip for pretzels or apple wedges… the possibilities are endless!
This salted caramel sauce is really easy to make. You only need four ingredients (plus water!) and it’s just a matter of combining sugar and water in a pan, allowing it to cook into a golden caramel, adding cubes of butter and a little cream and that’s it!
It’s sooo good! It’s also really good on my (or, um, The Rocking Rebel’s) Apple Cookie Crumb Cake!
4. Easy (Swiss!) French Buttercream
This was a kitchen experiment that turned out great!
Inspired by my series on the different kinds of meringue, I decided to see whether the Swiss method – heating egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a double boiler until the sugar has melted and the whites are pasteurized – could also be used to make a pasteurized pâte à bombe (yolk meringue). You see, I love French buttercream, which is made with a pâte à bombe, but since it’s not salmonella-safe I sometimes can’t make it when I know I’m making a cake for little kiddies.
So I tried to make the pâte à bombe the Swiss way and it totally worked! I added butter, and tadaa: salmonella-safe French buttercream!
I’m a genius 😉
That’s it for today, guys. I hope you feel inspired by these recipes!
Erika says
Hey,
I just found your beautiful blog and I’m in love with it:) from which country do you come from?
The Tough Cookie says
Hi Erika, I’m so glad you like the blog! I’m from the Netherlands, by the way 😉