Sweet Potato Puree With Toasted Meringue 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 PUREE

Steps:

• Place a steamer insert or a mesh colander in a large pot and add enough water to reach the bottom of the steamer. Place the sweet potatoes in the steamer and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and cook over simmering water for about 25 minutes, until very tender. Check occasionally to be sure the water doesn't boil away.
• Transfer the sweet potatoes to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly add the half-and-half, orange zest, orange juice, cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. With the mixer still on low, add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Taste for seasonings and mix until smooth. Serve hot.

SWEET POTATO TEA CAKE WITH MERINGUE

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil sweet potatoes until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, make the meringue: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg white, sugar and vanilla until glossy, stiff peaks form. Scrape meringue into a bowl and set aside; rinse off the whisk attachment and bowl and return to stand mixer.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees and butter a 9-by-5-inch (23-by-12-centimeter) loaf pan.
• Transfer sweet potatoes to stand mixer bowl. Add orange juice and whisk until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl to make sure there are no lumps. Add oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt and mix until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition; use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a separate bowl, use a fork to mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add to egg mixture in stand mixer and combine on low speed just until smooth. Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan.
• Use a spoon to top the batter with the meringue, gently swirling it into the batter and pulling it back out a few times to create streaked peaks. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.