Focaccia

This one is a dandy folks! What a wonderful, luscious and tasty bread.

Let me go back a number of years and tell you about my discovery of Claudia Fleming’s book “The Last Course”, a wonderful and delicious ode to pastry and desserts. Back in 2007 to early 2010 I was the pastry chef at Gracie’s in Providence RI. Being a newbie in the pastry/restaurant world, I was always looking for inspiration for desserts. As it turns out, the Providence Public Library was just a couple of blocks away from Gracie’s, and I would occasionally wander over there after my day’s work to peruse the baking book stacks. Thrilled by the discovery of this particular book, I would often turn to Claudia’s recipes and glean ideas from her creations.

Imagine my delight when learning of Claudia’s second book “Delectable” published in 2022 and dedicated to her late husband Gerry Hayden who, as I understand it, was a very talented chef. For many years the two of them operated the North Fork Table and Inn on Long Island (now under new ownership), and Claudia baked focaccia for the restaurant every day. That kind of experience and expertise is invaluable.

One of the things I love about acquiring new baking books is reading the introduction and gaining an understanding of the author’s philosophy and approach - and, let’s not forget, the recipes aren’t bad either!

I’ve made this recipe a couple of times so far and you can be certain that it will remain a staple in my bread baking repertoire from here on out. I topped mine with a pizza seasoning herb mix we keep on hand along with grated parmesan cheese, but you can create your own version.

I’ve adapted the recipe with some tweaks in ingredient portions based on %hydration (76% here) and the weight of a cup of bread flour that I use. If you’re a recipe reader/comparer as I am, you soon realize the variables that can appear in measures vs. weights, particularly for flour. Some may indicate a cup of flour is 5 oz (140 g), some 4.5 oz (128 g) and some 4.25 oz (121 g). I’ve tested out what a cup of flour weighs for me - typically 127 to 130 g - so that’s my benchmark. I take weights over measures any day.

You need only the very basic ingredients for the dough (bread flour, water, dry yeast and salt), plus olive oil for the pan. Dissolve ~6 g / 2 teaspoons active dry yeast in 483 g / 2 cups room temperature water in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit about 10 minutes until creamy. This step activates the yeast, however you can skip it if using instant yeast which can be mixed directly with the flour, water and salt.

Add 635 g / 5 cups bread flour and 10 g kosher salt to the yeast/water mixture and mix first with the paddle until combined. Rest the dough for 30 minutes to hydrate. Here’s my dough after that rest.

After initial hydration

Now switch to the dough hook and knead on med-high speed for 20 minutes until smooth. My 8 quart Kitchenaid commercial mixer (with which I can also use my 6 qt bowl!) does a great job with it’s workhorse of a dough hook and powerful motor. It’s a beautiful thing.

8 qt mixer with attachments/6 qt bowl

After the 20 minute knead

Place the dough in a lightly olive-oiled bowl and do a folding of the dough to develop the structure by stretching and pulling up one edge of dough into the middle, then the opposite edge, then the other two edges one at a time. This forms a tighter ball of dough. Flip the dough over to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature for 1 to 2 hours until doubled. You can also do an overnight fridge rise if it better suits your schedule.

The first time I made this, I did a 4 hour fridge rise (must have had something unexpected come up?) which I followed by an additional hour at room temperature. It worked. For my second batch I followed the room temperature approach, completing the project over the course of several hours.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, pat it into a square of sorts and stretch it out to about 16”x20”(ish).

Now fold it in thirds length wise (à la the letter or 3-fold we use for laminated dough).

Now fold in the short sides in thirds (another letter fold). Press out air pockets.

Dough package before panning

Pour 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil onto a half sheet pan, put the dough on the pan and turn to coat with oil. Let rest 10 minutes.

Stretch the dough to fit the pan as best you can. I did this in two steps, letting the dough rest 10-15 minutes in between. Dimple it all over, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise about 30-40 minutes. It will become more puffy.

Before the rise

Heat the oven to 500F. When ready, top with herbs and grated cheese (or your chosen topping(s).

Bake 8 minutes, rotate the pan and bake an additional 7 minutes until beautifully browned.

Mmmm, mmmm!

I slid the whole thing onto a cooling grid and gave it just a few minutes before Steve’s and my tastebuds just had to be put to work. Oh boy. Just the right chew and lightness of texture.

After our initial pre-dinner taste test, we enjoyed more with our evening pasta dish and then divided the remainder to wrap and freeze. It thaws and warms up beautifully in the oven and is great to split for sandwiches or open-faced baked with grated fontina and tomatoes on top or whatever your little heart may desire.

AbsoLUTEly delightful! Thanks Claudia.

Tarte au lait au chocolat (milkshake tart)

It’s time for more tart fun. This nine inch tart is an amped up version of what I called a chocolate milkshake tart back in the day when I was the pastry chef at Gracie’s in Providence RI. It’s a bit over the top from my usual not-too-sweet approach to baking and pastry, but most chocolate lovers won’t say no to a piece.

The chocolate pâte sucrée is fully baked (the only oven use portion of the program) and can be done earlier in the day of assembly or even a few days ahead and held in the freezer until ready. I placed mine on a doily covered cardboard cake round since it was being delivered to someone else, but you can place it on your favorite platter or plate as you wish.

A necessary part of the make ahead-ability is to make a milk chocolate ganache with 140 g milk chocolate and 260 g heavy cream then chill it down thoroughly. Plan for a good 4 hour chill, but you can make it a day or two ahead and keep it refrigerated as well. It will ultimately be whipped and is the essence of the milkshake nature of this tart.

When you’re ready to go, have your prepared crust at the ready. Now make a dark chocolate ganache with 2 parts (by weight) dark chocolate to 3 parts (by weight) heavy cream. For the thin layer in this tart I used 100 g chocolate to 150 g heavy cream but you can certainly make a larger quantity if you have other ganache plans going on in your head - ganache keeps in the fridge for many days. Gently rewarmed, you can dip choux puffs into it, drizzle it over ice cream or make a bunch of smaller tarts for a dessert table. And that’s just the beginning.

Pour the warm ganache into the baked crust then, using your own favorite brownies (I’m a fudge-y fan myself), dot brownie cubes all around. Chill it an hour or so to set the ganache.

Time to whip the milk chocolate cream - yay! You’re going for medium firm peaks.

I piped the cream using a star tip to give it the circular zen-garden-like ridges. As you pipe be sure to let the cream sort of fall among the brownie pieces so you have a nice fill of cream throughout the tart. Don’t be too fussy with it all.

Garnish with caramel drizzle and a sprinkle of chocolate cookie crumbs and you’re all set. Hold in the fridge until time to serve and enjoy your creation. Now that’s some tasty creamy, crunchy, caramel-y, fudge-y goodness!

While we still have some summer left, have a grand time whatever you do. Cheers!

Queen Anne’s lace along my walking route

Chocolate pot de crème fudgesicle

Just think about this - one delicious base and two ways to use it - classic pots de crème and a creamy, frozen, reminiscent-of-childhood treat. What a great way to create a luscious chocolate-y summer dessert duo with a minimum of oven work involved. Even better, to make it more enticing, it’s a make ahead project too!

This takes me back to Gracie’s days. At the restaurant I used to make these chocolate pots de crème in small brown espresso cups topped with a dollop of lightly sweetened Chantilly cream and served with a baton of delicious vanilla shortbread. Just enough to satisfy an after dinner sweet tooth with rich, cool and creamy luxury.

Then one day I discovered that I could take any leftover custard base I had in the fridge, pour it into silicone molds and freeze it. After all, the mixture is essentially crème anglaise (dairy, yolks and sugar), the same base used to make ice cream. So why not!

The perks of silicone molds are not only the many, many shapes and sizes out there but also their oven safeness and their freeze-ability and flexibility. Once frozen, simply push the treats out onto a plate or into a bowl when ready to serve.

The grey cube shape here (thanks Chef Joe) is an Elastomoule made by the French company De Buyer. The majority of my silicone molds are the Italian brand Silikomart which I typically buy through Kerekes, a NYC based company with a great selection of all things pastry plus great customer service.

The first time I sampled one of these, my taste buds took me back to the fudge-sicles of childhood (without the stick!) but with a creamier, richer smoothness that blew them out of the water! Since with this approach the custard is what’s referred to as “still” frozen rather than churned in an ice cream maker, it isn’t aerated and thus has a denser texture. Mmmmm!

Before going on to the recipe, here’s a quick back story. In 2009 I had the good fortune to spend some time in Paris pursuing professional development courses at Le Cordon Bleu and language study at L’Alliance Français. Needless to say, I was regularly out and about on the metro as well as being a flâneuse, strolling along les rues. I used to love going to les grand magasins, the big department stores like Galeries Lafayette and Bon Marché to browse all manner of things. A feast for the eyes!

On one visit to Galeries Lafayette I came upon these crinkled, colorful little espresso cups from Revol the French porcelain company (they still make these “crumpled cups” in three sizes!!). Easy to pack and a perfect addition to the different sizes and shapes of ramekins I so easily fall for. I’m a sucker for baked custards so why not have some cool oven safe receptacles in which to bake them.

The full base recipe fills 8 to 10 four-ounce ramekins. Obviously your yield will vary depending on what you’re filling. Smaller portions, greater yield.

For this project I made 2/3 of a recipe (4 yolks) with a yield of six of my cute Revol cups and ~ten 42 g/1.5 oz frozen cubes. I love small portions.

Don’t let the image below confuse you - just pretend there are 6 yolks in that bowl! The recipe quantities given are for the FULL recipe using 6 yolks.

Finally - here we go.

Place 113 g / 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate (I like a 60-66% range) in a bowl or a glass Pyrex measuring cup. Heat 4 cups heavy cream and a pinch of salt in a saucepan, bring it to a boil over medium heat then pour it over the chocolate and blend until melted. Note: You can reduce the fat content somewhat by using 2.5 cups cream and 1.5 cups whole milk if you’d like.

In a separate bowl whisk (with gusto!) 6 large egg yolks with 100 g / 1/2 cup granulated sugar to thicken and lighten them, a minute or two. Temper the hot chocolate mixture into the egg yolks and return all to the saucepan.

Cook over medium heat while stirring (I go back and forth between a silicone spatula and whisk) until beginning to thicken.

When making crème anglaise you don’t want the mixture to boil. You’re shooting for a temp of 180- 185ºF (82-85ºC). If you don’t have a thermometer, there are several signs to help you. You should feel a bit more drag as you stir the mixture. Look for tiny bubbles forming around the edge of the pan and steam coming off the surface. Coat your spatula with the mixture and run your finger through it - it should hold the track and not run. The more you do it, the more you just know.

Strain the mixture and fill whatever ramekins you’re using for pots de crème, leaving about 1/4 to 3/8 inch space at the top. Place ramekins in an oven safe dish and fill the dish with hot water to a level about 1/2 way up the ramekins’ sides. Cover loosely with foil and place in a 300ºF oven. Bake about 30-40 minutes until almost completely set but with a jiggle in the center. I always check at about 20 minutes then every 5-8 minutes or so until I’m happy with the jiggle status. They will set more as they cool and chill.

I filled my 6 Revol espresso cups which hold about 2 ounces. The rest of the base went into the fridge to chill before transferring to silicone molds and the freezer.

See the before-oven (liquid) above and after-baking (set) difference below?

Once out of the oven, lift the ramekins out of the hot water bath and place on a rack to cool fully. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill thoroughly, at least several hours. They’ll keep for several days - remember the planning ahead approach? It’s a good one.

If you’ve made your custard base with an eye to both pots de crème AND fudgesicles, refrigerate the rest of the base for a day or two where it should thicken nicely. Fill your flexi-molds to the top, using a small offset spatula to smooth and remove any excess, then place the molds on a sheet pan and into the freezer to firm up. Once frozen I cover the surface directly with plastic wrap - the molds can stay in there for days up to a couple of weeks.

When you’re getting close to serving, give yourself an extra 10-15 minutes or so once you’ve popped them out of the molds. At least with my “deep” freezer, they freeze very firmly and do well with a bit of softening before enjoying their luscious goodness.

Serve them along side the pots de crème on small plates as I did or by themselves in a bowl with your favorite ice cream type toppings.

I love a dollop of whipped cream, cookie crumbs, caramel sauce and chopped toasted or candied nuts, but you could also choose a bit of finely diced crystallized ginger, toasted coconut or raspberry or cherry coulis all of which complement chocolate so nicely. Valrhona chocolate crunchy pearls aren’t bad either.

Dense, chocolate-y, creamy and oh so delicious. Yes.

Please be safe out there. We still have a long way to go.

It’s officially summer - there’s still plenty of time to pot up some assorted annuals and make yourself smile!!

Quadruple chocolate toffee oat bars - a blast from the past

This takes me waaaay back to earlier baking days before pastry school had even become a glimmer in my mind. Perhaps a number of you remember the “365 Ways” cookbook series from the early 90s - many different topics on cooking, baking, soups, pasta, salads, chicken, Chinese, Italian and so much more. It turns out they’re still available through various online sources. Steve and I used to have a number of them but over the years as we moved, downsized etc. we either gave away, sold at garage sales or donated them to libraries. But not this one . . . . .

My baking bug had only been strengthening and no way was I going to part with this baby. It was published in the fall of 1993, and, although I don’t recall exactly when I purchased it, over the years I made many of the recipes, making notations on when I made them, how they baked (too flat, too gooey), whether I would bake them again (sometimes a big NO), possible additions or substitutions or adjustments for different pan sizes. NOTE: the book is still available on Amazon for $22.99 hardback.

Most of the dates I logged were from 2001 to 2005, the years of our Rutland, Vermont life during which I was moving away from medicine and definitely toward pastry. It made me so happy to bring baked goods in for monthly staff meetings or into the ER when I had to work the night shift (not my fave), just to see the smiles appear. Now that I think about it, that practice went way back to med school days when I’d bake chocolate chip cookies for my roommates and banana bread to take in to the hospital during clinical rotations. My oh my.

As I now page through the book it’s clear that certain sections caught my eye back then: “In the Chips”, a whole chapter devoted to chocolate chip cookies; “Chocolatey Brownies”; “Golden Brownies”; “Other Squares and Bars”. Below are a couple of well marked pages - note especially the “Unbelievably Almondy Almond Bars” notations - yes indeed!

My how my repertoire has changed.

I also found a couple of recipes in the “In Great Shape” section that gave me pause and took me back. These are the kinds of cookies that, once the dough is made, are rolled into ball/crescent/pretzel or what-have-you shapes, sometimes flattened/sometimes not and baked. Both “Almond Chews” and “Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies” were two goodies that I made a number of times and noted on both recipes that the last date I baked them was 9/29/05 with “last shift!” written in. Oh the memories.

As I think of those ER days and my desire (and need) to leave the medical arena, I want to and must offer a HUGE thanks to all those on the front lines right now - my heart goes out to all of you, your patients, your families and friends.

Whew! Enough reminiscing. This quadruple chocolate bar is actually one of the recipes from “In the Chips” entitled “Chocolate Chip Dreams”.

When I was pastry chef at Gracie’s in Providence RI from late 2007 to spring 2010 I used to make a chocolate chip cookie that had ground oats in it. So good. Wouldn’t you know it? For the life of me, I could not find said recipe! But wait - this one seemed like it might be close. I thought I’d share the recipe with you this way - much easier than writing it out step by step. Note the date and my scribbles.

As you’ll see, I baked some cookies first (too flat) but then moved on to the bar form - hence the title of this post.

My recipe changes include subbing in whole wheat pastry flour for some of the all purpose; toasting 85 g / 1 cup rolled oats, cooling and grinding them before mixing in with the flour, baking powder and baking soda; adding a heaping tablespoon of malted milk powder to the dry ingredients; using all butter (227 g/ 8 oz); for the granulated sugar I used Morena cane sugar which is slightly coarser and more golden than basic white granulated sugar; and last but not least adding 4 different chocolates at the end. This is just one of the ways I’m clearing out my pantry cupboard - yay!

Hmmmm - how’s this for a future project - milk chocolate malted ice cream? Bring it on.

For the chocolate portion of the program I coarsely chopped 113 g / 4 ounces each of Guittard’s lever du soleil wafers (my go to chocolate staple), Valrhona’s Jivara milk chocolate (on hand after buying it on sale at Sur La Table some months ago -it was time), Callebaut white chocolate (purchased over the holidays at the grocery store for what reason?) and then finely grated 28 g / 1 ounce of Montezuma’s 100% chocolate with cocoa nibs that I bought at Trader Joe’s for some cookies before Christmas.

Once the dough was put together, my first step was scooping cookie dough balls with my 3/4 ounce (~1.5 tablespoons) cookie scoop and spacing them on a parchment lined sheet pan. Since I wanted a trial first, I did one batch on a 1/4 sheet pan and popped the tray into the freezer while heating the oven to 350ºF.

The remainder of the dough balls went onto a 1/2 sheet pan for the freezer and baking at a later date.

Bake 11-13 minutes until golden. I tend to take these kinds of cookies out a little sooner than later so as to preserve some softness and chew to complement a bit of crispy edge.

While the cookies were tasty and full of chocolate-y, toffee-caramel-y flavors, I was disappointed in the spread and flatness. Probably due to using all butter rather than butter/shortening combo. But I’m an all butter kinda gal, so there. They simply weren’t like those Gracie’s cookies of yore. Rats Charley Brown - I wish I still had that recipe.

So now what? The following day I took the tray of dough balls out of the freezer and let them thaw. I prepped a 1/4 sheet pan (buttered/parchment-lined/buttered and floured the parchment) and pressed all the dough into it in an even layer. Feeling good.

Bake at 350ºF for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. The edges will rise and set nicely, the top lovely and golden and be sure when you jiggle the pan a bit that the dough doesn’t still have a bit of subtle slosh to it. Once set, cool on a wire rack then cut and enjoy.

This recipe is oh so much better as a bar than a cookie: chewy edges to die for; dense texture, chock full of chocolate that seems to have become one with the dough; just the right hint of coarse oat-y bits; dark brown and Moreno sugars along with the malted milk powder lend that lovely toffee caramel essence.

So here’s the deal. If making the full recipe, press it into a prepped 9x13 pan which should accommodate things very nicely (remember I had baked some cookies first and then put the rest of the dough into a 1/4 sheet pan which is about 9”x12”).

These store well covered in the fridge for some days. Steve and I continue to enjoy them when a mini sweet attack hits us.

Stay home, stay safe and happy baking!

A tasty trio for spring

A beautiful day at Fredrick Meijer Gardens here in Grand Rapids Michigan.  Spring is here. Delightful.

And now on to the baking portion of the program.

While I was preparing some sweet treats for a recent L'Alliance Francaise de Grand Rapids event, I was reminded of those days working as the pastry chef at Gracie's in Providence RI where I often created dessert trios for special events or private dinners.  I loved that. Three 2-bite experiences of different textures, creams, crunchies, fruits, nuts or what-have-you. No need to over do it - just some delicious little somethings to go with that after dinner coffee, tea or digestif - yes indeed.

For this menu I choose a petite apricot almond Breton cake topped with apricot caramel mascarpone cream and fresh raspberry, a delectable fudgy brownie with chocolate-graham-walnut crumble sprinkled over a ganache ribbon and my own sesame-cardamom shortbread cookie sandwiched with an orange honey buttercream. 

In this case it's not about a specific recipe or technique but simply the imagination of putting different flavors and textures together.  The more one bakes, the more one opens the mind to new ideas.

Interestingly, that's what I've found since teaching at Sur La Table here in Grand Rapids.  The recipes are chosen by the corporation and tested in the SLT test kitchen before being put on a nationwide schedule that's offered to the public.

Lots of croissant and French macaron classes to be sure, but every month or two some new topics pop up like crepes, soufflés and British baking, all of which prompt me to review and refresh my own knowledge and expertise.  It's all about learning! Plus I love figuring out what the problems might be when something doesn't turn out as expected. Keep trying!

So I've been doing things that haven't been in my typical scope of baking - Swiss meringue buttercream being one of them. Many of the macaron fillings for SLT classes are made using that technique with the flavors and fillings changing seasonally.  I had previously not been a big fan of buttercreams, yet having now made a number of Swiss meringue versions I find them quite appealing.  

There are many cake makers out there who do this in their sleep and many online resources presenting the process and all the delicious flavor variations that exist.

But just to review, a Swiss meringue is made by whisking egg whites and sugar over a bain marie to a temperature or 145º - 155ºF, then transferring it to a stand mixer and whipping to a nice glossy, stiff-peaked meringue.  Voila!

The meringue should be cool before adding the butter a few pieces at a time. The result should be a smooth, creamy buttercream.

I my case I blended orange zest and honey into the buttercream, and it was oh so wonderful with the lightly honey glazed sesame cardamom shortbread. Yum yum yum.

Of course, let's not forget that there's a lot of butter involved so my "everything in moderation" approach still applies, but somehow the meringue and butter combo is quite lovely as a filling for a cookie sandwich or a swirl on the top of a petite cake.

As for the petite Breton cakes, I used a standard Breton dough recipe from Christophe Felder, placed pieces of dough into round flexi-molds, topped 'em with almond cream, a dollop of apricot jam and a sprinkling of brown sugar streusel.  

After the bake, once cooled, I gave them a swirl of caramel mascarpone cream to which I had added some home made apricot purée, and topped 'em with a fresh raspberry.

The brownie bites were the recipe I've been making for Steve for some years, based on one from Fine Cooking magazine by Abigail Johnson way back when.  I gave them a ganache ribbon topping and sprinkled my chocolate-graham crumb- walnut crumble mixture on top. Yup.

All were delicious, delightful and appreciated by L'Alliance Française guests.

The moral of the story?  Use your imagination and keep creating your own flavorful treats! That's what it's all about.

Happy spring!

Petite Pavlova

For last weekend's Mother's Day a friend asked if I would make a Pavlova with fresh berries for her Sunday dinner celebration with family.  As I was in the mode, I decided to make some small versions for my own use.  Et pourquoi pas?!

Pavlova, reportedly named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova who danced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is a baked meringue that is typically filled with whipped cream and topped with fresh fruit of choice.

The French also use the word vacherin (NOT the cheese) for a similar meringue based dessert, often filled with ice cream and topped with fresh fruit.  Ice cream?  Whipped cream?  Either one works, so you decide!

A general meringue formula uses approximately 2 parts sugar to 1 part egg white, often with a pinch of salt or cream of tartar added to help the mixture hold its shape once whipped.

My base recipe for an 8-9 inch Pavlova calls for 4 large egg whites, a pinch of salt and a cup of superfine sugar whipped to glossy peaks.  Since I was making an 8 inch-er plus a bunch of small ones I made 1.5 times the recipe.  Plenty for my needs.

There are three methods of making meringue.

The French method, which I use here, involves whipping sugar and room temperature egg whites to glossy, stiff peaks, piping out shapes and drying them in a low oven to achieve a crispy exterior with a somewhat chewy interior.

love those peaks!

The Swiss method involves heating the sugar and whites over a barely simmering bain marie and then whipping them until cooled, glossy and peaked.  This version is more stable and can be piped and shaped.

Side note:  I used the Swiss method when I made "Baked Rhode Island" (a Kenyon's white cornmeal cake/coffee ice cream version of "Baked Alaska") at Gracie's in Providence many years ago.  I piped a lot of those little babies!  Reminds me of a hedgehog or sea urchin!

Gracie's "Baked Rhode Island"

And last but not least is the Italian method.  This calls for boiling a sugar syrup to the soft ball stage (240-245ºF), cooling it slightly, then pouring it over stiffly beaten whites while continuing to whisk until completely cool and glossy.  This is the most stable of the three and can be used alone or as a base for buttercream for cake icing or folded into mousses and creams to lighten them.  Some French macaron recipes call for Italian meringue as well.

Let's get on with the petite Pavlovas!

Once my French meringue was nicely whipped I blended in a mixture of 1.5 teaspoons each of cornstarch, water and vanilla extract.  This served to add a bit of flavor from the vanilla as well as enhance the crispy tenderness of the meringue.

For piping I used a simple trick that I had learned back in 2007 during my stage at Pâtisserie Pascal Pinaud in Paris - use a round cutter or tart ring dipped in confectioner's sugar to provide a size guide for your desired shapes.  Pretty nifty!

Psst!  I prefer to bake meringues (macarons included) on Silpats - they pop off very easily once baked.

I piped simple circles with a star tip while my oven was heating to 300ºF . . . .

. . . popped them into the oven, turned the temp down to 250ºF and left them in to bake (i.e. dry) for 1.25 hours.  Then I turned the oven off and let it cool down before removing the meringues.

all dried out

 Invariably there will be some cracks in the finished product, but that's par for the course.  Don't worry.

These will keep for several days in a covered container in a cool, non-humid environment OR can be frozen for several weeks.  Just pop a few out as you need them!

I chose to fill my petite Pavlovas with a whipped ricotta cream (one cup ricotta whipped with 1/2 cup heavy cream) to which I added seeds scraped from a vanilla bean and my homemade caramel sauce.  What's not to like!

see those vanilla bean specks?

I must confess that I'm not a big meringue fan (sorry you macaron lovers), but I found this combination quite pleasing.  The meringue was crisp with a hint of chew inside and the ricotta creamy and luscious with vanilla and caramel.  Yum.  And, of course, you simply CAN NOT go wrong with fresh fruit.

And to top it off, as a test I put several of these (uncovered no less) in my fridge for a day.  Boy oh boy, were Steve and I pleased!  The flavor was superb, the exterior of the meringue still crisp, the interior had softened to near gooey-ness and even the fruit was none the worse for wear after a day sitting next to leftovers.

Yes indeed.

And wouldn't you know I still have several meringues in my freezer and some freshly churned lemon ice cream waiting to go?

Now what do you think of that?!