Meringue Topped Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Tequila Recipes

SWEET-POTATO PUREE WITH TOASTED MERINGUE

Steps:

• Sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick each potato in several places with the tines of a fork. Bake until very soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Halve potatoes, scoop out flesh, and transfer to a food processor; puree until smooth. Add butter, syrup, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, and salt; pulse to combine. Transfer to prepared dish, cover, and bake until hot, about 10 minutes.
• Meringue: Meanwhile, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on low speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high; beat until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Spoon meringue evenly over potatoes. Holding a small kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle, 3 inches from surface of meringue, move flame back and forth over meringue until it starts to brown. (Or broil 6 to 8 inches from heat source, about 1 minute.) Serve immediately.

SWEET POTATO MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a disk of dough into a circle about ¼-inch thick. Starting at one end, gently roll up the dough onto the rolling pin. Unfurl the dough over a 9-inch pie plate, preferably ceramic, and press it in lightly, making sure it's lining the plate.
• Trim so that there's about ½ inch of excess dough hanging over the edge of the pie plate. (If the dough feels warm, refrigerate it for 15 minutes.) Tuck the excess dough under itself so it is flush with the edge of the pie plate; leave the pie like this for a straight-edge finish, or crimp as desired. Dock the base and sides all over with a fork and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours.
• Place a rack on the bottom shelf of the oven, and place a baking stone, if you have one, on the rack. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Use a small brush to evenly paint egg wash on the edge of the crust. Cut a square of parchment paper and use it to line the crust. Fill with pie weights (or dried beans) up to the top edge. Place the plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it directly on the baking stone if using. Bake crust until the outer edge is just starting to turn golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights, and continue to bake until the base appears set, 2 to 4 minutes more. If the dough puffs up anywhere, you can puncture it with a fork. Cool the crust completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and melted butter to combine.
• Add the sweet potatoes, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and mix to combine. Whisk in the heavy cream until evenly incorporated. (If you have an immersion blender and want to get the texture even smoother, you can blend it now too.) Transfer the pie plate to the prepared baking sheet and pour the custard into the crust.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it directly on the baking stone if using. Bake until the crust is evenly golden brown and the custard appears set around the outer edge, about 35 minutes; the center of the pie may still be noticeably jiggly. Let cool completely at room temperature on a rack.
• Make the meringue: Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix briefly just to combine. Stir the sugar and ⅓ cup/80 milliliters water together in a small pot. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir until it begins to simmer, then stop stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush away any sugar crystals that have washed up on the sides of the pot.
• Continue to cook the sugar mixture until it reaches 235 degrees on a thermometer, about 4 to 5 minutes; when it does, start whipping the egg whites on medium speed. (The goal is to get them lightly whipped and foamy by the time the sugar reaches 240 degrees.)
• When the sugar reaches 240 degrees, remove the pot from the heat. With the mixer still running on medium speed, gently pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Continue whipping until the meringue reaches medium peaks, 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Prepare two disposable piping bags by cutting openings large enough to accommodate pastry tips: an open star tip and a French star tip. Divide the meringue between the two bags.
• Starting with one of the bags, pipe shapes on top of the filling around the outside edge of the pie, varying the shapes in size and design. (Piping straight downward will form a basic star shape, or you can pipe in a spiral to create a sort-of rosette design.) The piped shapes should be random and can be layered on top of one another for the fullest look. Continue with both bags until the whole outer portion of the pie is covered, leaving a 3-inch circle of filling exposed in the center. (You'll most likely have extra meringue: See Note.) Alternatively, you can skip the piping, and scoop the meringue onto the pie, swirling it with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
• Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue, if desired. Serve within 2 hours. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, tented with foil.

MERINGUE AND STREUSEL-TOPPED SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• For sweet potatos: Wash and pierce sweet potatoes and microwave until soft.
• When cool, split skin and peel off.
• Place in mixing bowl with remaining 6 ingredients (through eggs) and beat at high speed for 2 minutes or until smooth.
• Spoon into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• For Streusel: Combine streusel ingredients and sprinkle evenly over sweet potatoes.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven but don't turn oven off yet.
• For Meringue: In clean mixing bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form.
• Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
• This takes about 4 minutes.
• Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe meringue into a lattice design over streusel (or just smooth over top like a pie).
• Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

SWEET POTATO MERINGUE BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Place potatoes in a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Combine brown sugar, pecans, water and butter; pour over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, just until tender, 30-35 minutes., Meanwhile, for meringue, in a small bowl, beat egg whites and vanilla on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition, until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Spread over hot potatoes. Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes longer.

EASY TWICE-BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork. Bake until soft, about 50 minutes. Let cool slightly on a rack.
• Cut a lengthwise slit in potatoes almost all the way through, leaving about 1 inch at each end intact. Scoop out flesh, leaving a 1/2-inch border on skins. Put flesh in a medium nonreactive bowl, then transfer half to a food processor. Process until smooth; return to bowl. Stir in sour cream, 6 tablespoons softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Transfer sweet potato mixture in batches to a pastry bag fitted with a very large round tip. Pipe mixture into 12 of the potato shells, dividing evenly; discard remaining 2 shells. Filled shells can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day. Just before serving, top with remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, the sliced butter, and pecans; arrange marshmallows on top. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until hot and marshmallows are golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes.

MERINGUE-TOPPED MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH TEQUILA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 Pierce sweetg potatoes in serveral places with fork tines, then bake whole directly on oven rack 50 to 60 minutes, until very tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350. Butter large shallow baking dish. When cool enough to handle, scoop sweet potatoes from skins and mash with potato masher, into a large bowl. Mix in applesauce and butter. When well combined, add salt, cinnamon, and tequila and brown sugar to taste. Stir in the egg yolks until they disappear into the mixture. Spoon into a prepared dish. Just before baking, make meringue. Beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed. When whites are foamy, sprinkle in cream of tartar, then gradually add granulated sugar. Continue beating several minutes, until egg whites are glossy and hold soft peaks. Spoon meringue over sweet potatoes, covering whole surface if you wish, or simply mound it in several poufs. Bake about 30 minutes, until meringue is lightly browned, and sweet potatoes are heated through and bubbling.