Becky Diamond, Author
  • About
  • Thousand Dollar Dinner
  • Mrs Goodfellow
  • Reviews/Events
  • Becky's Blog
  • Writing Clips
  • News/Articles
  • Food for Thought
  • Book Clubs
  • Excerpt - Thousand Dollar Dinner
  • Excerpt - Mrs. Goodfellow
  • Anna Maxwell's Recipes
  • Fun Food History Videos

Meringues a la Crème

8/18/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
A sweet blend of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar, meringue dates back to the sixteenth century, when European cooks first realized that whisking egg whites with birch twigs (for the lack of a better utensil), created a light, frothy mixture. They used this method to make what they called “snow,” a whipped dish combining the beaten egg whites with cream.

It was eventually discovered that meringue hardens when baked at a low temperature (or simply left out in the air to dry), changing the texture to one that is pleasantly airy and crispy. In the seventeenth century this was often called “sugar puff,” which was sometimes flavored with caraway seeds, a tradition that continued to evolve with other flavorings, creating a large number of taste combinations.

"Kisses" were a popular nineteenth century confection featured in Eliza Leslie's Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweetmeats. In this recipe, the whites of four eggs were beaten until stiff, then a pound of powdered loaf sugar was added, one teaspoonful at a time, and finally twelve drops of lemon essence. To form the cookies, mounds of currant jelly were spaced an equal distance apart on a paper-lined baking tin and the egg white mixture spooned on top. They were then set in the bake oven at the end of the day (when it had cooled down), and considered done when a pale yellow color. The flat undersides of two cookies were attached and dried again in a cool oven until the bottoms were firmly stuck, creating a ball or oval shape.

The Meringues a la Crème served by James Parkinson as part of the "Pastry Course" at his seventeen- course Thousand Dollar Dinner in 1851 were perhaps a bit more elegant - tiny bite-sized baked meringues lightly flavored with vanilla and filled with cream or jelly. Rose meringues were tinted a delicate pink and flavored with rose water extract. 

To recreate this recipe, I consulted a cookbook written by prolific nineteenth century chef and restauranteur Jessup Whitehead called Cooking for Profit: A New American Cook Book Adapted for the use of all Who Serve Meals for a Price. (Meant for those in the restaurant and hotel industries, it was originally published in the San Francisco Daily Hotel Gazette.)

It is really quite a simple recipe, it just requires a kitchen that is not too humid and some time to dry bake the cookies at a low heat. I used my stand mixer and am giving directions accordingly. Here's my adapted version:

Meringues a la Crème 

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups of granulated sugar
  • 6 egg whites, separated
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 tablespoon rose water
  • Pinch of cream of tartar

  1. Preheat the oven to 200F. 
  2. Line four baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  3. Beat three of egg whites with the sugar in a deep bowl until he mixture looks like firm white cake icing (about 10 minutes). Now add the remaining three egg whites, one at a time, beating a few minutes between each one. Just before the third is added, add the cream of tartar and flavoring and beat for about 30 seconds or until well mixed. It is essential to beat the mixture after the addition of each white until it rises in stiff peaks when the beater is lifted from it. However, the last white which should not be beaten much as it forms the gloss and smoothness on the meringues when they are baked.

PicturePre-baked Meringues
4.   Drop spoonfuls of meringue on the baking sheets, being careful to to place them too close, and then smooth them with a knife. 
5.   Bake them at 200F with the oven door partly open if possible. The time varies depending on the room temperature and humidity - mine took about an hour and a half. 
6.   When cool, lift them off the paper, scoop out the top part and fill with whipped cream or jelly. They can be presented singly or two can be joined together with melted candy or icing, like "kisses." 

Garnishing the meringues with whipped cream creates treats that are an angelic white color, like delicate clouds, but they can also be dressed up. Whitehead recommended filling them with "bright jellies of different colors and ice creams."

In any case, they are definitely worth a try. The sweet cream contrasts the crispy meringue beautifully, resulting in a delicious taste and texture combination. All my taste testers raved about them. And, they paired nicely with Champagne Frappe a la Glacé  - a signature Parkinson drink also served during the Pastry Course at the Thousand Dollar Dinner. 

2 Comments
Elizabeth Bulla
9/13/2017 11:34:39 am

What is meringue a la fouetee?

Reply
Becky Diamond link
9/20/2017 10:09:22 am

Hi Elizabeth! Thanks so much for your question. I had never heard of these. I did a bit of research and it appears they are very similar to meringues a la creme - meringue filled with whipped cream. I'm sure just as delicious too!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    So much of our history can be learned through food!
    My second book, The Thousand Dollar Dinner, follows the unique story of a luxurious 17-course feast that helped launch the era of grand banquets in nineteenth century America. I am also the author of Mrs Goodfellow: The Story of America's First Cooking School.

    Archives

    December 2020
    May 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Author photo in website banner by Heather Raub of FrontRoom Images
Hair by Kelly McGrenehan, Innovations IV Hair Salon
Makeup by Gina Kozlowski
Site design by Braintree Publicity