In the Kitchen: Meringue and Whipped Cream Sandwiches

These dainty little treats are quite sweet and the airy, crunchy texture is perfect. I made them for the Easter weekend since they just seemed the right sort of dessert "cookie" for spring.

Don't be confused, these sandwiches are way bigger than they look! Next time I make them, I will make much smaller dollops (or pipe them) on the cookie sheet.

Meringue and Whipped Cream Sandwiches

4 egg whites

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Whipped Cream (about a 1-1 1/2 cups of cream whipped with a 1/2 tsp vanilla and a tbsp. of powdered sugar)

Preheat the oven to 200* F.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry (still foamy). Fold in half of the sugar and then beat on high speed until stiff and dry (more like marshmallow creme). Fold in the rest of the sugar and briefly beat to combine. Divide the "fluff" into two bowls and add a tiny bit of food coloring to each bowl. I did green and pink (springy and all that). You don't want to use much since you want the meringues to be a pastel color.

{I really do not like to use food coloring ever, but I used very little in this recipe. I have heard you can buy food coloring that is not made with Red 40, etc., so I need to find it!}

Spoon the "fluff" onto a cookie sheet. Make them small! I made them too large so they were a bit of a mouthful when you sandwiched them together. You could also pipe the meringues onto the cookie sheet and they would probably be very pretty. Bake at 200 for 3 1/2 -4 hours. Yep, they take a long time. They are ready when they are firm, can be fairly easily removed from the cookie sheet and have started to crack just a little.

Once cool, spread with whipped cream and sandwich together with another cookie. I doubled this recipe when I made it since I was making these to give to people, so I am unsure of how many this recipe makes (I also made mine too big). I think a single recipe would be plenty for our family and some neighbors, so I don't think you would need to double it unless you were feeding a ton of people.

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

Recipe from: The Complete Book of Irish Country Cooking by Darina Allen

In the Kitchen: Chocolate Decadence with Raspberry Sauce and Whipped Cream

I put up a tantalizing picture of this delicious dessert in my post about Valentine's Day and then promised to share the recipe. I plan on keeping that promise, so now you can go and make this yummy dessert yourself.

{side note}Have I ever mentioned how much I love cooking and baking? I suppose you might have guessed considering how many recipes I have posted. I love making food from scratch and enjoying the fact that it tastes so good. I do like to go out to eat and to order dessert, etc., but there is something nice about making it yourself. Of course, there is something nice about not having to make it yourself as well. 

 This dessert is chocolatey. Really. It is even chocolatey enough to be completely satisfied while watching the movie Chocolat.

Oh, and this is another one of my mom's recipes. She would make this every Valentine's Day. I and my siblings were lucky children. Recipe? Here you go:

For the cake you need:

16 oz. quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

10 tablespoons butter

4 eggs

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon flour

How to:

Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. If you have parchment paper and feel like cutting out a circle, you can and then line it to the bottom of the pan (it does make it easier to get it out).

Place chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or metal/glass bowl) and set in a pot over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Set aside and cool.

In another double boiler or bowl (or the same one cleaned out) over hot water, combine the eggs and sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved (put a dab of the egg mixture on your finger and rub a bit of it between your fingers, if still grainy keep whisking, if smooth, remove from heat). Remove from heat and beat 5-10 minutes with an electric mixer until thick and light. Fold flour into egg mixture. Fold a third  of the egg mixture into the chocolate. Add remaining egg mixture to chocolate and fold in. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. Let cool and then freeze overnight. If you do not have that sort of time freeze for a least 3 or 4 hours. It tastes better if frozen overnight however. Remove from pan by dipping the bottom of the pan in hot water and then tipping upside down.

Raspberry Sauce:

1 10 oz bag of frozen raspberries

2-3 tablespoons sugar

Heat raspberries an sugar on the stove in a small sauce pan or in the microwave. Mix until the sauce is to the desired consistency.

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip the cream using an electric mixer. When almost done add the vanilla and sugar, then whip some more until done (make sure to not over do it and turn your cream to butter from too much mixing).

To assemble:

Cut a small slice of the cake (it is very rich), top with the warm raspberry sauce and then the whipped cream. Enjoy!

This is a very tasty dessert and not all that difficult to make and very delicious to consume. So try and make it and let me know what you think!