Meringue Mushrooms

[JayBassin]

Every year about this time I make meringue mushrooms to decorate buche de noels (buches de noel?). I see many published recipes calling for baking them at 250 F for an hour, then cooling. They do crisp up when cool, but get gummy after just a short time on the cakes. I think they should be baked for much longer---perhaps 4 or 5 hours at 200 F to dry out completely. I don't have a problem with a slight browning on the mushrooms (I dust with cocoa powder anyway). Any thoughts?

[presto]

I'd go further...bake for 2-3 hours at 200, turn off the oven, and leave them in there overnight.

When I make meringes to eat I don't cook them that far...I do like that touch of goo in the middle. If your mushrooms are mainly for decoration, though...dry those suckers right out.

[Wendy DeBord]

I use 180F, 250F is too hot, they'll brown at that temp.. Then depending upon the size of your mushrooms it could take a couple hours. Unless they begin to brown you can leave them in the oven as long as you want. There's no rush to pull them out of the oven...ignore the recipes instructions on that point.

A couple factors come into play with meringues not drying out:

Your either not baking them long enough, your under whipping them or your putting them into too humid of an enviroment.

[nightscotsman]

It may not be how long the mushrooms are baked that's the issue. Merinque, having so much sugar, absorbs moisture like crazy, so if you place it on a cake with ganache or butter cream they will get soft after a few hours no matter what you do, especially if they are in a moist environment like the fridge.

We use marzipan mushroom and logs that will not be served immediately.

[Pam R]

I bake mine at 200 for 2 hours - they get very crispy, with no browning. But I agree with Neil - is the problem that they aren't crisp enough to begin with or that they become less crisp when they come into contact with the icing?

[Anna Skigin]

May I ask a general question about meringue here?

Mine are very crispy when I pull them out of the oven, they just melt in the mouth but they become chewy in a couple of days. Is it humidity or I underbake them?

[FistFullaRoux]

It's the humidity. Once the meringue is dried out, it will absorb moisture from the air or whatever it is in contact with. Consider storing them unil the last possible moment in an airtight container with a couple of the little packs that come with certain medicines or electronics. They will capture any moisture in the container. Then place the meringue at the last posssible moment.

Alton Brown addressed this in the fudge show. If you take two pieces, and place one in a container by itself, and put the second one in a container with a bit of damp paper towel in it, even if they don't make contact, the one with the extra humidity will soak up the moisture and go gooey.

If you are in a high humidity environment like Florida, consider putting them back in the oven for a bit just before serving to crisp them up again. If you are in Vegas, you should be OK.

[Anna Skigin]

thank you very much for the answer! I'm sure it'll help. The information you gave is very useful.

One more question. I like meringue with all kinds of nuts but I can't get them as dry and crispy as the regular ones, it seems to me that the oil from nuts destroys the meringue. Is there any secret?

[JayBassin]

It may not be how long the mushrooms are baked that's the issue. Merinque, having so much sugar, absorbs moisture like crazy, so if you place it on a cake with ganache or butter cream they will get soft after a few hours no matter what you do, especially if they are in a moist environment like the fridge.

We use marzipan mushroom and logs that will not be served immediately.

←

Yeah: I think this is the problem. The 'rooms are dry and crispy until they're placed on the cake/frosting. Then they get gummy quickly. I use a dab of frosting/ganache to glue them to the display or to the cake. That dab of moisture is probably all that's needed to soften them up.

[Pam R]

Yeah: I think this is the problem. The 'rooms are dry and crispy until they're placed on the cake/frosting. Then they get gummy quickly. I use a dab of frosting/ganache to glue them to the display or to the cake. That dab of moisture is probably all that's needed to soften them up.

←

What about painting a little chocolate on the mushroom before dabbing with frosting? Do you use chocolate to attach the cap to the stem? I think the chocolate may act as a protective coating.

[castironchef]

It's definately the humidity. Why, oh why, are meringue figures (in this case, mushrooms) mostly needed in the winter when, around here, we have rainy and humid weather? Regardless of how dry you get them, they'll turn to mush. Fortunately, when they're mushrooms, they'll look just fine, even when their consistency is that of a marshmallow.

I also bake a specialty cake for which I make a large ax out of meringue. In the summer, there's no problem. (Not much humidity in Northern California.) In the winter, forget about it!

[rosebud]

I've made a few Buche Noels in my time and went straight to the source, Jacques Pepin's "La Technique" for the recipe. He bakes the separate parts at 180 to 190 degrees for 75 minutes. I have simply stuck a few on the cake before serving and passed the remainder in a basket. Never had a problem with "gumminess."

I even made these for a dinner based on mushrooms (these were the dessert). Simply put them in a linen-lined basket and passed them around. Works every time.

[JayBassin]

What about painting a little chocolate on the mushroom before dabbing with frosting?  Do you use chocolate to attach the cap to the stem?  I think the chocolate may act as a protective coating.

←

I glue them on with a dab of chocolate ganache. I think the moisture in the ganache gets the 'rooms gummy after 1/2 hour or so (faster if refrigerated).

I saw a show on "Baking with Julia" where a guest pastry chef created a ganache sandwich between two meringue cookies. I assume these also would get soft after a short while.

PS: The leftover mushrooms, kept in a sealed plastic box, are still crunchy after a week.

Edited January 1, 2006 by JayBassin (log)

[Pam R]

I use straight melted chocolate as my glue - keeps 'em crunchy.

[R Washburn]

thank you very much for the answer! I'm sure it'll help. The information you gave is very useful.

One more question. I like meringue with all kinds of nuts but I can't get them as dry and crispy as the regular ones, it seems to me that the oil from nuts destroys the meringue. Is there any secret?

←

Rose Beranbaum uses cornstarch in her daquoise recipe (see "The Cake Bible"). I also think that Pierre Herme's tip of grinding the nuts in the food processor with the sugar is helpful; the nuts release less oil.

I was tempted to make my mushrooms out of hazelnut daquoise this year because it tastes so much better then meringue. I will do so next year.

[Anna Skigin]

Thank you! I have a recipe where I add some haselnut to whipped egg whites together with some flour. Next time I 'll try to grind the nuts together with flour\ cornstarch.

( may I ask one more question? which book of Pierre Herme you're talking about? I found one on Amazon but it costs smth like 170$!!! Are all his books that expensive?)

Thank you for answering all my silly questions!

[R Washburn]

Thank you! I have a recipe where I add some haselnut to whipped  egg whites together with some flour. Next time I 'll try to grind the nuts together with flour\ cornstarch.

( may I ask one more question? which book of Pierre Herme you're talking about? I found one on Amazon but it costs smth like 170$!!! Are all his books that expensive?)

Thank you for answering all my silly questions!

←

Herme adds the hazelnuts with the sugar in the food processor and it seems to really help keep them from turning into hazelnut butter. The book I was referring to was his Chocolate Desserts book which is the subject of a monster thread in this forum.

You should also try the tip of drying the daquoise for a long time at a low temperature. It seems to result in a much crispier meringue.

[Anna Skigin]

What a prompt answer! Thank you! Well now I just HAVE to buy that book!

As for drying the daquoise the trick I know is to start at 280 F and slowly reduse the temperature up to 210 F. It really works - in summer, when the air is dry.