Catalan chucha recipe. Catalan cream: a classic recipe and its variants

In the 17th century, the Italian chef Gasparini, who came to Switzerland, for the first time prepared small delicate cakes, which were given the name "meringue". Since then, fans of this delicacy around the world have only been increasing, it is hardly possible to find those who do not like the dessert that is airy and melts in your mouth.

Its taste is really divine and many people think that only professional confectioners can make meringue. Nothing like this, it is done very easily, you just need to know a few secrets and tricks. The classic meringue recipe in the oven includes only two components - egg whites and sugar.

Colored meringue in the oven

To make colored meringue, you will need food coloring. Such a sweet delicacy will please adults and children. Prepare it for a children's birthday or any other holiday.

Taste Info Various Desserts

Ingredients

  • egg whites - 2 pcs.;
  • sugar - 100 g;
  • vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
  • food coloring.

How to make classic meringue at home

The most important thing in cooking meringue is perfectly clean dishes! The bowl in which you will beat the egg whites and the whisk should be spotlessly clean. Otherwise, you risk spoiling the dessert. Even with the slightest drop of fat, egg whites will never whip into a strong foam. For the same reason, carefully and carefully separate the yolks from the whites. Remember, yolk is fat!

Separate the whites into a bowl and start beating them.

Gradually, without stopping the mixer, add sugar and vanilla.

Continue whisking until you get a strong protein mass that will hold its shape well.

Add a few drops food coloring and stir.

You can make meringue in two colors. Divide the whipped whites into two parts, add red dye to one, yellow to the other.

Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Take a pastry bag and a curly nozzle (you can use a pastry syringe or just put the meringue on a baking sheet with a spoon).

Fill a pastry bag with beaten egg whites.

Pour the protein mass onto a baking sheet. Do the size at your discretion. For example, for kids, you can cook "bezeshki-babies" by planting very small blanks.

Send the baking sheet to the oven, heated to 100 degrees, for 1.5-2 hours.

After the required time has passed, turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let ready dessert cool without removing the pan.

Transfer the cooled meringue to a bowl and serve.

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Meringue in a water bath

Meringue in a water bath is also called “wet” in another way. You will need two pots: a regular one, in which water will boil, and a smaller refractory one, then set it on water bath(this may be a glass pan for microwave oven). The method is more time consuming, but such meringues are dense and resistant, they can be given any intricate shapes.

Ingredients

  • chicken eggs - 4 pcs.;
  • salt - a pinch;
  • granulated sugar - 200 g;
  • vanilla sugar- 1/2 tsp;
  • citric acid - on the tip of a knife.

Cooking

  1. To prepare "wet" meringue at home, take an ordinary saucepan, pour a little water into it and bring to a boil.
  2. While the liquid is boiling, separate the proteins from the yolks in the eggs. Do this very carefully so that not a drop of the yolk gets into the protein, otherwise they will not whip later.
  3. Pour the egg whites into a clean and dry smaller fireproof dish. Add a pinch of salt and start beating with a mixer.
  4. Now place the bowl in a water bath, so that its bottom does not touch the boiling water in any case, and continue beating (50-60 seconds will be enough).
  5. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar to the beaten egg whites.
  6. Add vanilla sugar, continue beating for 1-2 minutes.

7. When the mass begins to thicken, throw citric acid and beat until stiff peaks (also about 1-2 minutes).

8. Now remove the dishes from the water bath and continue beating until the protein mass cools completely (the more it cools, the thicker it becomes, the mixer will work harder and harder). This process will take approximately five minutes.

9. Transfer the resulting protein cream to a pastry bag with a curly nozzle. Cover the baking sheet parchment paper and place blanks for meringue on it. Here you can fantasize, giving the future dessert a different shape. How much meringue to bake in the oven will directly depend on the size of your blanks. The smaller the workpiece, the faster it will be ready.

10. It remains only to heat the oven to a temperature of 100 degrees, send a baking sheet into it and dry the meringue for 1.5 hours.

11. After the required time has passed, open the oven door, pull out the baking sheet a little and try the meringue with your finger. If it is dry and does not stick, then turn off the oven, but do not remove the baking sheet, leave it inside for another 10-15 minutes with the door open.

12. That's all, the airy and beautiful meringue in the oven is ready. Serve it with fragrant tea or coffee, you can use to decorate cakes.

Meringue with starch

We bring to your attention another simple recipe for making meringue with starch. This component adds extra dryness, which is especially important when meringue is used to decorate moist cakes or desserts.

Ingredients

  • chicken eggs - 4 pcs.;
  • salt - a pinch;
  • powdered sugar - 1.5 cups;
  • potato starch - 1 tbsp. l. (with a slide);
  • lemon juice - 1/4 tsp;
  • vanillin - sachet (1.5 g)

Cooking

  1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. This must be done especially carefully, because the slightest part of the yolk that gets into the egg white will cause them to whip poorly.
  2. Add a pinch of salt to the proteins and beat with a mixer.
  3. Now gradually add the icing sugar, one tablespoon at a time, without stopping beating.
  4. When the protein mass becomes dense enough, add vanillin and starch. Continue beating for 2 more minutes.
  5. Squeeze out the lemon juice, beat for another 1-2 minutes and the meringue protein cream will be ready. It turns out very thick if you turn the bowl upside down, the cream should not drain or fall.
  6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Protein cream transfer to a pastry bag and deposit on a baking sheet, giving the blanks an arbitrary ornate shape.

7. By this time, your oven should be preheated to a temperature of 100 degrees. Send a baking sheet into it for 1.5 hours.

8. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and wait until the cakes are completely cool.

  • The main secret of a successful meringue is only fresh chicken eggs!
  • Another important point is at what temperature to bake the meringue. Never preheat the oven too much, 80-110 degrees is enough. The whole secret lies in low temperature and long baking. By and large, the meringue is not even baked, but dried (depending on the size from 1.5 to 2 hours).
  • In no case do not store the finished meringue in the refrigerator, it will become damp over time.
  • If you have to cook meringue without a mixer, then remember one important thing - when whipping the protein mass with a kitchen whisk, never change direction, work only in one direction. And immediately be prepared that this will take a long time (at least 15 minutes).
  • The classic proportions of proteins and sugar - 50 g is taken for 1 protein granulated sugar or powder.
  • If you cook meringue in electric oven, then turn on the heating both from below and from above, but without the convection mode.

Friends, good afternoon! Let's prepare a French delicacy of beaten egg whites with sugar baked in the oven. As you may have guessed, this dish is called "Meringue", which is translated from French as a kiss. Those who have tried this wonderful dish will agree that it can be compared with a gentle kiss. We will cook it at home in the oven and attach detailed step by step photos so that you can do everything.

For housewives who often cook, the question sometimes arises of what to do with the proteins that remained after cooking any dishes where only yolks were needed. Prepare the meringue, you won't lose, these delicate cakes melt on the lips of satisfied loved ones. Everyone is happy and the squirrels are not gone.

Made from meringue different types desserts, each of which has its own characteristics and secrets of preparation. We advise you to carefully study the issue of preparation, since the details are very important, literally one wrong step and the dessert may not work out.

There are different types of meringue with different ingredients, in this recipe we will show you how to make meringue with simple products that are in every home. So, we are preparing a classic meringue recipe in the oven at home.

Required products:

  • Egg whites - 5 pieces;
  • Sugar - 250 grams;
  • Salt - 1 pinch.

Detailed cooking method:

1. Chicken eggs take good, fresh. First of all, we will separate the proteins from the yolks, we only need proteins. It is important that the yolk is not damaged, otherwise the whites will not whip well. The bowl in which we will beat the whites should be glass or metal; in a plastic bowl, the whites are whipped a little worse.

Not a drop of water, oil, fat should get into the protein, otherwise the meringue will not work.

2. Add a pinch of salt, and in order for the mass to beat well, the eggs should be slightly chilled.

3. We begin to beat with a mixer and add a little sugar. Beat until fluffy, about 10 minutes.


4. We shift our mass into a pastry bag or you can spread it straight with a spoon on a baking sheet. We use a file, it's quick and easy, then you don't need to wash anything, just throw it away and that's it. We cut off the tip of the bag and squeeze the mass onto a baking sheet, previously covered with baking paper.

5. We form beautifully and accurately our future meringues.

6. We put the baking sheet in the oven, heated to 100 degrees for about 1 - 1.5 hours, if there is a fan in the oven, then turn it on, since our dessert should be dried and not baked.

This meringue recipe in the oven is very simple and does not require much effort, we hope you enjoy it.

This recipe makes very delicious meringues and in this example, we will share with you the main secrets of preparing such yummy. Now we will tell you in detail how to make meringue at home.

Meringue - at first glance, a simple dish, it would seem that it could be easier to beat the eggs, add sugar and that's it.

Products:

  • Chicken egg - 5 pieces (protein);
  • Sugar - 240 grams;
  • A pinch of salt;
  • A pinch of citric acid or lemon juice - 1 teaspoon.

There are certain rules and subtleties that must be followed for a 100% good result:

1. Mandatory for Beze needed fresh eggs. To determine the freshness of an egg, drive it into a bowl and observe. If a chicken is looking at you from a bowl, then meringue will not work out of such an egg 🙂.

Now seriously, if the protein keeps its shape and the yolk flows around in a tight ring, then the egg is fresh. If the protein is not dense, but spreads strongly, then this egg is not suitable for meringue and you should definitely not cook this dish from such eggs.

2. There are different opinions on what temperature the eggs should be, someone says they should be at room temperature, someone cools them on purpose. We make meringue quite often and use regular chilled eggs from the fridge, we don't put them in the freezer or anything else.

3. For meringue, we need a completely dry pan, any one except aluminum will do, in it the protein loses its color, elegance, becomes gray.

4. Carefully separate the protein from the yolk, not a drop of yolk should get into the protein. We recommend that each egg be divided over one dish, and the separated protein should be poured into a separate bowl. The yolk is not useful to us, we remove it.

5. Approximately 50 grams of sugar is spent on one egg. We have a glass of about 240 grams, so let's take five eggs.

6. In order for our proteins to beat successfully, we will literally add a pinch of salt and start beating with a mixer or blender at low speed until foamy. Then increase the speed and continue to beat for five minutes.

7. In small portions at low speed, add sugar 2-3 tablespoons each and continue to beat the protein, gradually increasing the speed for 10 minutes. The protein was whipped until dense peaks formed, the mass should be quite thick, even if you turn the dishes over, they should not flow out, in the literal sense, you should not turn the dishes over, suddenly they were not beaten well enough 🙂.

8. Add a few citric acid granules, literally a small pinch, or a teaspoon lemon juice and beat a little more to dissolve everything.

9. We must spread the meringue in a preheated oven up to 100 degrees, it is important not to use a high temperature. Spread the meringue on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper for baking. You can use a special pastry bag, after placing the mass there. We spread it with two spoons so that the meringues turn out in the form of lush clouds, the larger the spoon, the larger the dessert.

10. We bake for about 1-1.5 hours, always in a closed oven, which we do not open. Next, slightly open the oven, turn it off and let the dish reach and cool for a couple of hours.

So we prepared a recipe for meringue in the oven, it did not burn, it easily moves away from the paper, it turned out quite plump and airy.

Do you watch your figure and constantly count calories? Do you think such sweetness as meringue is not for you? We hasten to please you and offer an amazing meringue recipe without sugar and eggs, namely a dietary vegetarian dessert. main ingredient of our dessert is very unusual, called aquafaba - it is a viscous liquid that is obtained after boiling chickpeas or other legumes, the liquid that we usually pour out after cooking. And its whole secret is that due to the high protein content, in combination with starch, it whips up as well as egg white. And this means that you can cook Musa, soufflé, meringue, air biscuits and even coffee foam.

Cooking meringue, in classic recipe use egg white and sugar, but we will cook from a decoction of chickpeas and maple syrup.

For aquafaba (150 ml):

  • Water - 700 ml.
  • Chickpeas - 200 grams;

For meringue:

  • Maple syrup - 100 ml;
  • Aquafaba - 150 ml;
  • Salt - 1 pinch;
  • Citric acid - ⅓ tsp;
  • Beetroot juice - optional;
  • Vanillin - ½ tsp;

Cooking meringue without sugar:

1. We prepare aquafaba, wash the chickpeas, soak them for 8-10 hours or leave them overnight. We drain the water.


2. Add 400 ml of clean water and put on fire. Cook until soft, about 2 hours, covered. In the process of cooking, water will boil away from us, so we add another 300 milliliters.

3. At the end of cooking, there should be some water left in the pan, just as much as we need, about 150 milliliters. The broth is ready, and from the chickpea itself you can cook delicious or meatballs.

4. Pour the liquid into a deep container and beat in a mixer at high speed until white foam. Five minutes and the foam is ready.

5. Now add the warmed maple syrup, continuing to beat until soft peaks form.

6. Add citric acid, salt and vanilla.

7. Whip to stiff peaks.

8. We shift the resulting mass into a pastry bag or into a bag with a cut off tip.

9. We squeeze the cream onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper, we added a little beet juice to part of the mixture for a beautiful color. If the mass spreads, then you have not whipped it enough.

10. We put our bezeshki in a preheated oven to 100 degrees for one hour.

11. If the meringues are firm and well behind the paper, then they are ready, but it is important to leave in the oven until completely cooled.

By the way, 100 grams of the product contains only 154 kcal.


Alexander Khoroshenkikh

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As you, of course, guessed from the name, the Catalan Creme dessert or, as it is also called, Catalan Crema, is a dish that is traditional for the cuisine of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. By the way, this the most delicate delicacy somewhat reminiscent of creme brulee, invented in France, however, instead of cream, milk is added to the recipe, which makes it not so sweet, and is cooked on an open stove instead of an oven.

An interesting fact: this Spanish dessert is also called St. Joseph's cream, which is connected with an interesting legend, which we will tell.

The legend of the Catalan cream

Despite the fact that the recipe for this delicacy has long been known throughout Europe in various variations, the Catalans argue that the authorship belongs to them.

So, there is a legend according to which "crema catalana" appeared in the 18th century. And it was like this: once a bishop was supposed to arrive in one of the Catalan monasteries, and therefore the nuns, whose duties included organizing treats for the clergyman, decided to cook this delicacy, which was traditionally sprinkled with sugar and set on fire before direct serving to form a crust. It was this combination of hot crust on top and cold cream underneath that delighted the bishop so much that the exclamation “Crema!” Was uttered, which translates from Catalan as “it is hot!”. It was this description that eventually became the name for the dessert, and in the 19th century the French interpreted it in their own way and called it “cream”. Traditionally, "crema catalana" is served in molds made of clay.

As for, in fact, the ingredients that are needed for the Catalan cream, it is prepared from eggs (yolk), milk and sugar. But to give a piquant taste, there are recipes with the addition of spices, vanilla, lemon zest and cinnamon, sometimes starch and flour are used. But the most important thing is the notorious crust that forms when sugar is ignited on the surface of the dessert before serving.

But the dessert got its second name in honor of St. Joseph the Betrothed. So, back in the 18th century, the cream of St. Joseph could be enjoyed only one day a year - March 19, when the feast in honor of the saint was celebrated. This custom has been preserved to this day, but now you can enjoy the taste of dessert at any time.

As for the first mention, the recipe for one of the old European desserts contained cookbook dated back to the 14th century.


Cooking Catalan cream at home

In order to try an exquisite Catalan dessert, it is not at all necessary to go to Spain. This tender and original dish can be cooked at home.

So, to prepare a treat for 6 people, you will need: milk - 1 liter, egg yolks- 8 pieces, sugar - 10 tablespoons (moreover, you use 6 spoons directly for dessert, and 4 for caramelization), zest of 1 lemon, cinnamon - 1 stick, starch - 2 tablespoons.

First you need to put milk on fire, add lemon zest, cinnamon stick and sugar in the amount of 4 tablespoons to it, bring the mixture to a boil.

While the milk is heating, you need to beat the egg yolks with sugar (2 tablespoons) and starch, and so that there are no lumps left in the mixture. As soon as the milk begins to boil, scoop some of it with a ladle and gently fold it into the beaten egg whites, while continuing to slowly stir the mixture with a wooden spoon.

As soon as the resulting mixture becomes thick, pour in the milk that remains, and then put the pan on a minimum heat and boil for about 5 minutes, while constantly stirring the contents.

After that, the resulting mass must be filtered using a large sieve and poured into dessert containers in which you will serve dessert. Next, the almost ready cream should be placed in the refrigerator for one, and preferably for several hours.

But only after that it can be served on the table, while first sprinkling it powdered sugar, which should be done in advance, and effectively set it on fire. To do this, you can use a hot metal plate, or better and more beautiful - a flaming burner, due to which a hot caramel crust is formed, which serves as a spicy frame for the cold cream.