Strawberry Swirl Meringue Cupcakes

My sister is a meringue fool.
Marshmallows are her absolute favorite, but a meringue with a soft center will make her crazy.
Meringues are to Andrea what Chocolate Chip Cookies are to me. Yes, Chocolate Chip Cookie is a proper noun here.

It's where they had the snowball fight in Elf!

Before we left for college, I made each member of my family a special treat. Mom's getting soft pretzel rolls, Dad's getting amaretti cookies, and Andrea's getting meringue cupcakes.

They may look like regular cupcakes, but...

These are pretty amazing, and I'm pretty proud of myself. Martha, as in Stewart, has a recipe that's really similar to this, but I didn't see it until after I developed my own. I sort of feel like a pro, but no big deal.


The meringues are still soft on the inside and the base is all vanilla. Andrea's a huge fan of strawberry, so that's the flavor I used, but if you prefer plain vanilla or another fruit, feel free to substitute. The mango from Trade Joe's would probably be great, and I'm dying to make a couple batches of these with apples and cinnamon in the fall.

But these are very special!

Strawberry Swirl Meringue Cupcakes
Makes 12 Cupcakes and tops

6 egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries, powdered in a food processor (use your favorite fruit)

Preheat your oven to 225ºF, and line a 12-muffin tray with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick spray.
In a clean bowl, with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on medium-high, until they are frothy, continue beating and slowly add the vinegar and vanilla.
Beat on high until the mixture forms medium peaks. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating continually, then beat for 2 more minutes more, until the eggs are shiny and form stiff peaks. The sugar should be dissolved.
Transfer the 2/3 of the egg whites to a plain pastry bag or plastic bag with the corner snipped off, and fill the 12 liners just to the top.
In the bowl, gently fold the powdered strawberries into the remaining egg whites, mix until the mixture is marbled with pink--swirled, not solid.
Transfer the strawberry meringue mixture to a clean pastry bag and pipe 2-inch swirls onto the tops of the cupcakes, coming about 1 inch above the top of the liner, at the highest point. The swirls should be the same diameter as the top of your cupcakes.
Put the cupcake pan in the oven on the center rack and bake for about 3 hours, until the outside is dry and brittle, but the middle is still soft. Turn the pan half way through.
Enjoy!

*You can find freeze dried fruit at Target (Archer Farms brand) and Trader Joe's*

Strawberry Rhubarb-Rhubarb Galette

Galettes are the pie world's cookie. They're free form, they're relaxing, they're whatever you want them to be.
I find galettes liberating.
Really, I do.
My mom's the kind of person who needs some liberation. A lawyer, a mom, a high stress individual who prefers birthday pie to birthday cake. Her favorite pie is strawberry rhubarb. Unfortunately, she was born in late July (the 2nd to last day) and by now, rhubarb is long out of season.
This high stress individual has an obsessive daughter. The kind of daughter who bought all the rhubarb she could get her hands on, flash cooked, and froze it in anticipation of July 30th. This daughter needs a galette.

Strawberry rhubarb pie is a taste of my childhood. Some people have memories of chocolat chip cookies and meat load, I have memories os rhubarb and spaghetti alla puttanesca. My sister, Dad, and I would hunt one down every July, always literally leaping for joy when we found one at Peterson's (the best pie in town) Now Peterson's is closed and we always get one in June from Eileen's Pies and Otherwise (If you go to Martha's Vineyard, find her, buy her warm pies, and spend the rest of your days in pastry-induced bliss)

Getting ready for a Dinner Picnic

I love the way the rhubarb cuts through the sickly sweet childhood taste of cooked strawberries,  love the way the cinnamon lends a much needed depth, and the way the honey plants the desser firmly on the ground. The nuttiness of whole wheat flour and slight tartness of Greek yogurt in the dough doesn't hut either.
This recipe works just as well with fresh rhubarb as frozen, though I don't recommend prepackaged frozen fruit because strawberry-rhubarb combinations tend to be pretty runny, and the frozen stuff gives off juice like you wouldn't believe. I know most of you will have to wait close to another year to make this exact recipe, but subbing 1 cup of rasberries, 1 cup of strawberries, and 1 cup of peaches will work just as well!

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette
Serves 6-8

2 c rhubarb, sliced thin
1 c strawberries, sliced thin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 c corn starch
2/3 c turbinado or other raw sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c skim Greek yogurt
3-4 Tbs ice water
2 Tbs milk

For Crust: 
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse salt and flour until light. Add the yogurt 1/4c at a time until just combined. Add water slowly, until the dough just begins to form a rough mass. Form into a ball and chill while making filling.
For Filling:
Combine Lemon, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add fruit and sugar and toss to thoroughly combine, making sure the fruit is evenly spread, and that the flour is not clumping.
Construction:
Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll out to a 10x15 rectangle and move to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Spoon the drained fruit filling into the middle, leaving about 2 inches around the sides.
Fold in the shorter edges, then the longer sides to overlap.
Pinch the corners closed. Brush with milk, sprinkle with the extra sugar and bake, at 350ºF for 45 minutes, cover with foil if the crust gets too golden and the fruit is not yet finished.
Cool for 20 minutes, cut and enjoy!

Strawberry Balsamic Popsicles

I remember the very first time I had strawberries and balsamic vinegar. I was probably eight years old and my dad had read about the new crazy combination in Bon Appetit magazine. While I have always been a lover of balsamic vinegar (The reduced stuff is by far the best ice cream topping in the world--yes, even better than fudge or caramel or both) the mix of berries, vinegar and pepper was not very attractive to my eight year old self.

But then I tried it. Oh my goodness was it amazing! My dad added some sugar and let the berries soak up the vinegar for about an hour before we dug in to the bowl of ruby colored berries.
This is still one of my favorite combinations, and even though I absolutely hate black pepper, it is very very necessary in this recipe. It perfectly balances the sharpness of the vinegar and berries. Oh, and if you can, use the ripest strawberries you can find, they balance the sweet and savory combination without the addition of too much sugar, so you get more of the pure berry and vinegar flavor.

Strawberry Balsamic Pops

1 1/2 cups ripe strawberries, hulled and stemmed
2-4 Tbs sugar
1/2 Tbs Fresh ground black pepper (finer is better)
2 1/2 Tbs good balsamic vinegar

In a blender or bowl with a hand mixer, blend the strawberries and sugar until it forms a chunky liquid (hard to explain, but the picture above is more descriptive). Add the pepper and vinegar and mix well. Portion into your popsicle molds and freeze until solid, 6 hours or overnight.