Meringues Chantilly

This is my Second post for Barefoot Bloggers . Barefoot bloggers are a community of bloggers who twice monthly make and share recipe from Ina Garten’s cookbooks. This month’s second recipe was selected by BMK of Reservations Not Required who has chosen Meringues Chantilly from Barefoot in Paris, page 176
At first I was very excited to try these. Meringues are something that I’ve always wanted to make but didn’t want to invest the 6 or more hours needed to prepare and cook them. So, with this month’s selection I would be “forced” into it. I had planned to try this recipe over the weekend but life took over and the meringues were pushed back until Wednesday night at 6:00pm when they went into the oven for their 2 hours of baking. After sitting in the oven all night and all day we were finally able to give them a try. Let me just say that I’m glad I had a chance to make these. They look beautiful, although not as pretty as Ina’s, but I’ll work on that. The taste is great also. Give them a try. They are not hard and I think you’ll be glad you did.

Her recipe:
I’ll highlight in red italics the things I changed.
Ingredients
6 extra - large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar , divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whipped Cream with Orange Liqueur, recipe follows I just make whipped cream with orange zest.
Stewed berries, recipe follows I used frozen strawberries and bananas.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass and a pencil, draw 6 (3 1/2-inch) circles on each piece of paper. Turn the paper facedown on the baking sheets.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a large pinch of salt on medium speed until frothy. Add 1 cup of the sugar and raise the speed to high until the egg whites form very stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla. Carefully fold the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into the meringue. With a large star - shaped pastry tip, pipe a disc of meringue inside each circle. Pipe another layer around the edge to form the sides of the shells.

Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight.
Spread some of the sauce from the stewed berries on each plate. Place a meringue on top and fill with whipped cream. Top with berries and serve.

Whipped Cream with Orange Liqueur:
2 cups (1 pint) cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar, vanilla and orange liqueur and continue to whip until the cream forms stiff peaks. Don't overbeat, or you'll end up with butter!
Yield: 4 cups

Stewed berries:
1 half-pint fresh blueberries
3 half-pints fresh raspberries, divided
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
2 teaspoons framboise (raspberry brandy) Combine the blueberries, one-half pint of raspberries, 1/3 cup water, the sugar and zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. The juice will become a syrup and the berries will be slightly cooked. Off the heat, stir in the remaining raspberries and the framboise. Set aside