Date Nut Meringues Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHIP DATE NUT SQUARES.

Steps:

• In medium bowl mix 1 1/2 c boiling water and 1 1/2 tsp baking soda with the dates.
• Set aside to cool.
• Beat together margarine,1 c sugar and eggs in large bowl.
• To this add vanilla extract and date mixture.
• Add flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda and salt.
• Pour into greased and floured 13x9 pan.
• Sprinkle 1/4 c sugar, nuts and chocolate morsels on top.
• Bake @ 325 degrees 45 minutes.
• The difficult part: set aside until the next day to eat.

DATE MERINGUE BARS

Steps:

• Beat together butter, granulated sugar, egg yolks and vanilla.
• Add flour and mix to form a thick batter. Press in a greased 9"x7" pan.
• Measure water, dates, brown sugar in over dates in medium saucepan and cook till thickened. Spread over base in pan.
• Beat egg whites until frothy, slowly add brown sugar and beat to stiff peak stage. Spread meringue over dates.
• Bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes.

DATE AND NUT FINGERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300ºF, place rack in center of oven.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine and sift together powdered sugar and flour into a small bowl; set aside.
• Add one tablespoon of sugar flour mixture to chopped dates and toss to coat. Use a little more (only if needed) to keep them from being too sticky.
• *Note: Do NOT use pre chopped packaged dates unless the pkg states that they are NOT coated with anything.
• Add salt to egg whites in a mixing bowl; beat to a stiff foam (almost to the soft peaks stage).
• Add the sugar-flour mixture to the egg whites, one tablespoon at a time, beating constantly, until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Gently fold in nuts, dates and vanilla extract.
• Drop from tablespoon onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
• Shape into fingers, if desired, or leave in mounds.
• Bake for about 30 minutes. Cookies should be a very pale beige at most, not brown.
• Remove the cookies, ON the parchment paper, to cooling racks and cool completely.
• When cool, carefully peel the cookies from the parchment paper (a thin bladed knife or spatula helps)
• Store in an airtight container; use waxed paper between layers.

DATE A NUT MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Grease a cookie sheet.
• Beat the egg whites in a large bowl on medium speed, till soft peak stage.
• Add the sugar gradually. beat till glossy stiff peaks form.
• Carefully fold in cardamom, dates and nuts.
• Drop mixture by the tablespoon onto cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE, DATE & HAZELNUT MERINGUE TORTE

Steps:

• Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 180c (170C fan forced).
• First, prepare the nuts. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake at 180C for exactly 8 minutes (set a timer so you don't burn them).
• Remove nuts from oven, wrap in a tea towel and then rub firmly to remove as much skin as possible. You may have to do this a couple of times and rub stubborn ones between your fingers. Don't fuss too much if some skin won't come off - just get rid of as much of the loose papery stuff as possible.
• Put skinned and roasted hazelnuts into a food processor and chop roughly. Place nuts into a medium mixing bowl.
• Now break up the chocolate and place it in the food processor and chop roughly. Don't worry if it's not evenly chopped, some will be like grated chocolate, and you'll have some larger bits. That's fine. Just don't overchop it. Add chocolate to nuts in mixing bowl.
• Cut dates in half then process in a food processor until finely chopped, but be careful not to pulverise them to mush. Add dates to mixing bowl.
• Using your hands or a spoon, mix nuts, chocolate and dates well.
• Now, spray a 22-24cm (9") springform tin with spray oil and line base and sides with silicone paper. Paper should come 2.5cm-5cm (an inch or two) over the top of the tin.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then add sugar, 1 tablespoon a time, beating after each addition, until all the sugar is used. Continue beating until mixture is stiff and glossy.
• Note: If you don't have a large mixer, it's a good idea to divide the egg whites and sugar in half and beat each half in a different medium sized bowl.
• Using a spatula, gently fold date, hazelnut and chocolate mixture into the egg whites until well combined.
• Spoon mixture evenly into prepared tin, smooth top and bake on the centre shelf of the oven at 180C (170C fan forced) for 50 minutes.
• After 50 minutes, turn off oven, but DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Leave the cake in the oven overnight (or at least for several hours until the oven is completely cold) without opening the door.
• The next morning, you can remove the cake from the oven and decorate it just before serving.
• Ganache:.
• It's best to make the chocolate ganache the day before too. Simply bring the cream to a boil, remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour into small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, remove the ganache from the refrigerator and sit on the kitchen bench until it comes back to room temperature (this will take at least 2 hours).
• Decoration:.
• Just before serving, remove cake from springform tin onto a serving plate.
• Add sugar and vanilla to whipping cream and beat with electric mixer until thick.
• Spread whipped cream over the top of the cake.
• Spoon room temperature ganache into a piping bag with a large star nozzle fitted.
• Pipe rosettes around the perimeter of the cake and one large rosette in the centre.
• Remove stems from strawberries and cut strawberries in half.
• Pile strawberries (or berries of your choice) onto the top of the cake.