Macadamia Meringue Triangles Recipes

MACADAMIA COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of a buttered 9-by-2 inch round cake or springform pan with a round of wax paper and butter paper. Dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.
• In a bowl with an electric mixer cream butter with 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Onto a sheet of wax paper sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour into butter mixture alternately with milk in batches, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla and blend batter until just combined well.
• In another bowl with clean beaters beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar gradually and beat meringue until it holds stiff peaks. Stir one fourth meringue into batter to lighten and fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until cake begins to pull away from side of pan and a tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely. Cake may be made 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature, tightly wrapped.
• Make filling:
• In a dry heavy skillet cook 1/3 cup sugar over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Cook, stirring with a fork, until melted completely and a light caramel. Add macadamia nuts and cook, stirring, until nuts are coated well and caramel is deep golden. Pour praline onto a sheet of foil and cool completely. Break praline into pieces and in a food processor grind fine. (Do not purée to a paste.)
• In a small saucepan whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, egg yolks, milk, and cornstarch. Bring pastry cream to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Whisk in vanilla. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl and chill until cold, its surface covered with plastic wrap. (Pastry cream will be very stiff.)
• In a bowl beat heavy cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk pastry cream to loosen and whisk in praline. Fold in whipped cream and chill while making frosting.
• Make frosting:
• In a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water whisk together frosting ingredients until mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved. With a portable electric mixer on high beat frosting 6 to 7 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Remove bowl from heat and beat frosting until cooled slightly.
• Assemble cake:
• With a long serrated knife cut cake horizontally into 3 layers. Spread filling between layers on a cake plate and spread cake with frosting. Coat cake with coconut. Cake may be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered loosely. Garnish cake with macadamia nuts.

PINEAPPLE MACADAMIA NUT MERINGUE PIES

Steps:

• Make pastry:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Toast nuts in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan in oven, stirring once or twice, until golden, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack. Coarsely chop 1/4 cup nuts and set aside.
• Pulse flour, sugar, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped, then add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg and process until dough begins to come together into a ball but is still crumbly. Form dough into a ball with your hands. Press about 1 tablespoon dough evenly over bottom and up side of each pie plate. Chill shells until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Lightly prick bottoms and sides of chilled pie shells all over with a fork.
• Bake until edges are golden and bottoms are pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Cool completely in pans on racks. Loosen edges of shells carefully with offset spatula, then carefully remove shells from pans and transfer to a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts into bottoms of shells. Leave oven on.
• Make filling:
• Simmer butter, pineapple, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is evaporated and pineapple is slightly translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Cool slightly, then spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling into each shell.
• Make meringue topping:
• Beat whites with cream of tartar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar and beat until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks. Spoon about 2 tablespoons meringue over filling of each pie, covering filling completely and sealing meringue to pastry.
• Draw meringue up into small peaks and bake until tops are golden in spots, about 5 minutes.
• Cool pies on racks, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PINEAPPLE & MACADAMIA NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix, pineapple juice, oil and eggs; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into three greased and floured 8-in. round baking pans., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, combine sugar and flour in a large saucepan. Whisk in egg yolks, butter and pineapple until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Reserve 1/3 cup pineapple mixture for frosting; gently stir nuts into remaining pineapple mixture., Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with half of the filling. Repeat. Top with remaining cake layer., For frosting, cream butter, confectioners' sugar, reserved pineapple mixture and enough milk to reach a spreading consistency. Spread over top and sides of cake. If desired, chop and toast additional nuts; sprinkle on top and around bottom of cake.

MACADAMIA MERINGUE TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Butter the surface of a baking sheet measuring about 14 by 16 inches. Place in the freezer and let stand an hour or longer.
• Put the macadamia nuts and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the container of a food processor or electric blender. Blend well. Set aside.
• Put the egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer. Start beating while gradually adding the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until the whites are stiff and stand in peaks. Add the ground nut mixture and fold it in.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spoon and scrape the meringue onto the baking sheet. Smooth it over with a spatula to make a thin layer. Place in the oven and bake 15 or 16 minutes or until the meringue layer is lightly browned.
• Remove from the oven. Trim the outside of the meringue neatly and evenly. If the meringue sticks, return the baking sheet to the oven until it is heated. Work quickly. Cut the meringue into strips, each about 3 inches wide. Cut these strips into triangles measuring about 3 inches to a side.
• Carefully, but as quickly as possible, run a metal spatula under the triangles to loosen and remove them. Let stand until cool.