Tempting Little Sweet Things

Many years ago, I had made some little meringue shells filled with ganache to tempt little girls at a Princess Party, held by the Dacotah Prairie Museum in Aberdeen, SD. They were quite a hit, and with good reason. They are little. They are easy to pick up and bite. They are little. Oh, did I say that already? Well, they are, and cute as buttons, too. These little 1½-inch diameter temptations are just sweet enough, and too pretty not to be a temptation. 

White Ganache Filled Chocolate Meringues (Meringues made with tip #199 / Filling with #823)

I have made these Ganache-Filled Meringues in many different shapes and flavors, to date, and I keep on making them because they are easy and just so good. Originally, I made the meringue chocolate flavored and the ganache was made with white chocolate and tinted pink (for all the little princesses). Talking with my daughter Jen one time, she said they would be too difficult or take up too much time to make, and she didn't have the piping bags I used, nor the piping tips. I proceeded to show her that none of those statements were deterrents. This time, as she is a died-in-the-wool chocoholic, we made chocolate meringues with chocolate ganache. 

Chocolate Ganache Filled Chocolate Meringues (Meringues made with tip # 1M / Filling with #823)

Lemon Meringues

Later on I played with the idea of "Lemon Meringues", though sadly, I cannot find my notes written down anywhere, and I cannot recall what I did for the filling, which was not ganache, but I know I used Lemon Curd, somehow. I will figure that out and repeat!

Back to how to make these tiny gems. Obviously, from these photos, all these were made using various star tips and a piping bag. But, as I said to my daughter, none of this is needed for them to be truly delicious and pretty. For any of these, what is needed first off is to use a parchment paper to fit the pan these meringues will bake on. On the flip-side of where the meringues will touch, find a bottle cap or other round object that is 1½-inches in diameter. While the meringues do not truly spread while baking, it is easier to work if they are at least an inch apart. Begin tracing circles onto the parchment, at least an inch apart. You will need about 24 circles in total. 

Open Star Piping Tips, various brands

At the point you are ready to place meringue on the circles, flip the parchment so the inked side is underneath. The circles should be plainly visible. Now, you have choices. 

• In the first photo above (with white chocolate ganache), I used Wilton Open Star Tip#32 and with the Lemon Meringues photo, I used Wilton Open Star Tip #199 to make the meringue bases. Starting at the center of one of the circles, begin piping in a spiral outwards until reaching the edge of the circle, then continue spiraling atop the outer ring once or twice more, to build rows on top of the outer edge. This forms a tiny cup shape, and gives a place to begin piping in the ganache later.
• In the Chocolate Ganache Filled Meringues in the middle photo above, I used Wilton Star Tip #1M and piped a swirled rosette, to just fill the circle's 1½-inch diameter, then, going back over all of them, using the handle end of two spoons, create a little well in the center of each meringue.
• The third method is to either use a baggie with one corner cut out to "pipe" the circles - OR, just plop a small rounded dollop of the meringue into the circle, spreading to fill to the edge, then using the handle edge of two spoons to create a small opening in the center.

Any of these methods will work just fine. It only depends on time and what you have available in your kitchen. 

GANACHE

In order to fill the meringues after they are baked, the ganache can be piped in using a piping tip such as #22 for a tighter pattern, or #823 for a looser pattern. Use the looser pattern to pipe a star, or swirl to make a rosette.

Ganache is easy to make, and only requires setting up before piping. This does mean that cold from the fridge will make it very difficult to press the icing through at first. Knead the bag, preferably with warm hands for a few minutes, until it loosens sufficiently. There are three kinds of ganache I have made, to date:

• Using White Chocolate, such as Lindt. Look for a brand that has white chocolate in it, not the white "baking chips, which contain no chocolate at all. Mixed with warm cream, this is simple to accomplish.
• Using your preferred chocolate chips, from milk chocolate to 60% dark chocolate. This also uses warm cream to melt the chocolate.
• Using sour cream to make the ganache instead of cream to melt the chocolate. This method makes a much more tart outcome, meaning it will taste better with a sweeter chocolate or milk chocolate, but any version can be perfect, depending on how it is used. 

Chocolate Ganache Stars on Mini Cupcakes

Chocolate Ganache

Makes about 12 ounces of Ganache
Enough to frost 1 recipe mini cupcakes with open star tip #829

½ cup whipping cream
6 ounces good quality chocolate /chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Heat the whipping cream in a saucepan over medium low heat until it comes to just under a simmer. Have the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate, stirring gently until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Add in the room temperature butter a bit at a time, stirring until completely melted before adding more. Keep at room temperature until it  cools completely, or refrigerate until it is cooled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

White Chocolate Ganache

Makes about 15 ounces
Enough to fill Meringue Cups

10 ounces good quality white chocolate, such as Lindt, broken in very small bits
⅔ cup heavy cream
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium low heat to just below a simmer. Immediately pour over the white chocolate pieces in a mixing bowl and stir gently until the white chocolate has completely melted. Add in the butter and stir until completely melted and the ganache is smooth. The ganache will have a yellowish tint. Adding in food color to tint will have to keep in mind that the yellowish tint will cause pinks to be more salmon. Blue could become green. Purple could look brown. Test a small bit first, to determine color. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Chocolate Meringues

Chocolate Meringues as cups

Makes 24 meringue cups, 1½-inch diameter

2 egg whites
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
-----
Ganache of choice for filling

Make the ganache ahead of time, as it needs time for cooling before using. 

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Turn parchment over and draw 24 circles 1½-inch in diameter, set about 1 inch apart on the parchment. Turn parchment over once more. The circles should be plainly visible.

In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and stir well. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the granulated sugar, beating at high speed just until stiff peaks form. Very gently, fold in the confectioner's sugar and cocoa mixture, until combined. Use one of these methods to make the meringue shapes:

1. Pipe small "cups" with a #22 or #32 open star tip: starting in the center of a circle, spiral outwards to the edge of the circle, then continue spiraling atop the outer perimeter of the circle for another round or two, making a cupped shape.
2. Pipe one large star or rosette with a large open star tip such as #823 or 829 or 1M, then using two spoon handles, press open a well in the centers.
3. Drop a dollop of the meringue into the circle, carefully spreading to its edges, then using two spoon handles, press open an indentation to make a cupped shape. 
4. If you have a piping bag (or a zip-top baggie) but no piping tips, simply cut a half-inch hole in the bag's end and pipe small rounded mounds, then using the spoon handles, make a well in the centers.

Bake the meringues for 1 to 1½ hours, or until crisp and dry. Cool completely before filling. These can be stored, unfilled, in a cool, dry place, in a container with a tight fitting lid, for up to a week. Once filled, they will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days in a tightly sealed container.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Chocolate Beet Cake Revised

1st Chocolate Beet Cake, as mini cupcakes

Last weekend I had made and served little mini cupcakes at an Open House. The cake was an experiment, using beets in a chocolate cake. This was an idea I'd never had before and I made part of the recipe into the mini cupcakes and part into a single layer cake to try here at home. While I am not terribly into chocolate of any kind, occasionally I do not mind making and eating a chocolate cake. As chocolate cakes go, that one was good. Flavors were great, to my palate, though I felt it could have been a bit more moist.

I had questions about this whole beet cake concept: 

• how much of the beets would be too much?
• how much sugar is needed?
• should I try using oil instead of creaming butter and sugar?

On that first attempt, I was cautious, using only 1 cup of beets for what was the equivalent of a two-layer cake. I went the route of what I felt was a normal amount of sugar, and creaming the butter and sugar before adding the eggs and the beets to the mixture. As I looked at the recipe I had created, I decided next time to alter some of these things. 
 

Chocolate Beet Cake, revised, with Hazelnut Creme Filling and Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

Meanwhile, this past Monday my son called to tell me he and his wife (whom I just adore) were planning to come for a short visit, arriving Thursday around dinner time. They would stay just a couple of days, while on their way to Glacier National Park. As it happens, both of their birthdays fall in September. As it also happens, they both love chocolate cake, and preferably chocolate cake with hazelnuts added in some way. This seemed to be the perfect occasion to make the second Chocolate Beet Cake with the revisions I was planning, as an early birthday celebration.

A slice of Chocolate Beet Cake, revised, with Hazelnut Creme Filling and Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

For this second cake, the sugar amount was left as it stated. I added an extra half-cup of pureed beets for moistness, and an extra ounce of bittersweet chocolate. As for oil, since I don't keep any cooking oil except olive oil in my house, if I am looking to substitute something for oil in a cake, it is either melted butter or melted coconut oil. For this second cake I increased the "oil" to 2 melted sticks of butter (1 cup), instead of the 1½ sticks in the first cake. Since I was adding more beets and more "oil", I added an extra egg to help set the cake. The first time I used gluten-free flours and added in guar gum and some powdered egg white for stabilizers. This time I used regular all-purpose (wheat) flour. 

This time the cake was perfect and moist, with a wonderful chocolatey flavor and texture. The added beets still did not come through in the flavor, but only added extra moistness to the cake. Perfect!

Chocolate Beet Cake, revised

Makes one 2-layer (8-inch) cake

3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
2 sticks / 16 tablespoons / 1 cup unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups pureed beets (about 3 medium beets, cooked and pureed)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over very low heat, melt together the 3 ounces chocolate with the butter, just until the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if on Convection Bake). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line the pan bottoms with parchment. Spray the parchment. Set pans aside.

Sift or whisk together in a bowl, the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Once the chocolate and butter mixture is no longer hot to the touch, beat in the eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla with the pureed beets and mix well. If using a larger saucepan, the whole cake can be mixed together in this pan. Add in the flour mixture, mixing well until just combined. Do not over beat.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few fudgy crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool in pans for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely to fill and frost.

DO AHEAD: The cake layers may be left in the pans overnight, covered tightly with cling-film or foil, to be filled and frosted next day.

Cake batter in pans |     baked cake   |   Hazelnut Creme Filling   |   Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

Since my kids like hazelnut, I created a Hazelnut Creme to spread between the layers. This creme has no chocolate in it. I wanted contrast in flavor and texture. The recipe yielded 2 cups of filling, though I used only about 1½ cups of it for the cake. The rest would taste wonderful on toast, crackers, a bagel, or anything else you would like with a hazelnut flavored cream. I used "white chocolate chips" as part of the filling for flavor. The term "white chocolate" is used loosely when looking at most grocery store-bought brands, as there is no cocoa butter in the ingredients. If true white chocolate is desired, find an alternative with real cocoa butter such as Valrhona Ivoire, Guittard or Lindt for better flavor and actual cocoa butter content. This is what I did:

Hazelnut Creme Filling

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup / 4.4 ounces / 124 grams hazelnuts
½ cup / 4 ounces / 113 grams cream cheese
1 cup / 5.5 ounces / 156 grams white baking chips
2 tablespoons Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur), optional

Set the hazelnuts in a saucepan and just barely cover with water. Bring to a boil and let stand in the boiling water for about 2 minutes, off the heat. Drain and place the hazelnuts into a food processor. Process the hazelnuts until fine. Add the cream cheese and process to combine.

Place the white baking chips into a small microwave-safe bowl and use short 7 - 10 second bursts to melt the chips, stirring after each few-second burst. My microwave took almost 40 seconds to completely melt the chips. Add the melted white chocolate chips to the food processor and process to combine, adding in the Frangelico while processing, to combine and loosen the mixture a bit. If not using Frangelico, thin to spreadable consistency with milk, cream or even water.

DO AHEAD: This filling may be made up to a week in advance and refrigerated, covered tightly. To use, bring to room temperature and stir well before using.

Use this Hazelnut Creme Filling to spread over the first cake layer. Set the second layer over top. Frost with Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache if desired. I wanted a chocolate ganache for the top of the cake, and realized I had no heavy cream in the house. Wondering if there were alternatives for the cream, I found a recipe for this Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache on a website called The Big Bake Theory. I advise you check out the recipe(s) on this website as she gives many options for making ganache. The only thing I did differently was add in Frangelico and some Espresso Liqueur. The ganache was not too sweet, as I used bittersweet chocolate with the sour cream. A sweeter chocolate may be substituted, if a sweeter ganache is desired. The sour cream tang was very apparent. Since the cake was rich and the filling was rich, I felt that a slightly less sweet ganache would be perfect. And it was!

For this recipe the two main ingredients (chocolate and sour cream) must be measured by weight, as it needs equal weights of sour cream to chocolate.

Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

Makes about 3 - 4 cups (2 pounds) ganache

Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

16 ounces / 453 grams sour cream
1 pound / 452 grams (milk, semi or bittersweet) chocolate
3 - 4 tablespoons Frangelico, optional
2 - 3 tablespoons Espresso liqueur, optional

In a double boiler, set over (but not touching) simmering water, mix together the sour cream and chocolate. Stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to melt together. Once all the chocolate has melted, remove the pan from heat. If using the liqueurs or other flavorings, add them and mix well.

If desired, the ganache can be used immediately, pouring over the cake as a glaze. If using as a frosting, allow the ganache to cool completely to room temperature. This can take up to 3 hours until it will spread as an icing.
This amount of ganache was not needed if just using it to top the cake as I did. I had about 2 cups leftover. Once refrigerated, this ganache could easily be rolled into balls for truffles. After assembling the cake, I chopped a handful more of hazelnuts and sprinkled them over top of the ganache, just for looks and texture.  

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.