Thank you, George W... I mean it..

Our backyard raspberries are ripe for the picking. For the next two weeks, I will pick a cup or two of luscious homegrown raspberries daily. So by now you must be wondering what do my fresh juicy berries have to do with former White House occupant George W. Bush -- I finally found something to thank him for.

This Berry Angel recipe is adapted from an angel muffin Bush years White House executive chef, Bill Yosses insists on calling breakfast food. Before arriving at the Bush White House in 2007, Yosses had three decades under his apron strings as a French pastry chef and at some of New York's finest restaurants. His new cookbook, titled The Perfect Finish features these fluffy meringue based cakes that Chef Yosses calls "the eighth wonder of the world." Add a dollop of fresh whipped cream and  I couldn't agree more. When it comes to yummy ... mission accomplished.

BERRY ANGELS
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash of salt
1 cup fresh berries (raspberries, blackberries, small strawberries cut in half, or blueberries)
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated citrus zest (from fresh lemon, lime or orange peel)

Set aside 1 tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling. Preheat oven to 365 degrees F. Rinse berries (I used raspberries) thoroughly and set to drain in a berry colander. Line 1 dozen jumbo muffin tins with paper liners. Sift flour, powdered sugar and salt into a small bowl. Toss zest (I used orange) evenly throughout, making sure the zest is coated with flour. Set aside. Using an electric mixer set on medium, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar (except that already set aside for sprinkling). Beat until egg whites form stiff meringue peaks.

Toss vanilla in berries, covering the berries with the flavoring.  Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold flour mixture into meringue, use careful strokes so as not to deflate the egg whip. Fold in 2/3 of the berries. Fill each cake liner 2/3 full with batter. Top each with a few more berries and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Bake for 20 minutes until tops are a gently golden in color and a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack at least 15 minutes before serving. Best eaten within 24 hours.

Comments

  1. Best Wishes, MarieJune 18, 2010 at 10:37 PM

    thanks !! this recipe looks awesome. i love the idea of the individual cakes. i am going to check out the cookbook also.

    ReplyDelete

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