barbaral (12/20/82)
To the person who wants to make mushrooms: I don't have a recipe, but recall seeing one in a cookbook on chocolate. The recipe involved a chocolate jellyroll, made into a "log", with the mushrooms for decoration. The mushrooms were made out of meringe (can't remember how to spell it), which is egg whites and sugar beaten up. The stems were formed through a pastry tube, and the caps were globs of meringe on a cookie sheet. After baking they were stuck together with frosting.
minow (12/23/82)
Meringue mushrooms (for decorating a Yule log) are fully described in Lenotres Desserts and Pastries (Barron's Educational Series, 1977) (ISBN 0-8120-5137-8). This book is the best reference for the non-professional pastry cook that I have ever found. (Lenotre also published a book on Ice Creams and Candies). A large bookstore should be able to find it for you. To make Meringue mushrooms, first make a Swiss Meringue: 4 egg whites = 2/3 cup (120 g.) 1 2/3 cup (250 g.) confectioners' sugar. Unsweetened powdered cocoa [optional] 3/4 cup (120 g) powdered semi-sweet chocolate [optional] Procedure (summarized): beat egg whites and sugar over boiling water (water shouldn't touch the bowl) until the mixture reaches 120F (50C). Remove from heat and beat at high speed for 5 minutes, then lower the speed and beat 5 more minutes or until the meringue is very stiff. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture. Butter a baking sheet and dust it with flour or line it with parchment paper. Squeeze the meringue onto the baking sheet in long strips or vairous shapes, such as mushroom caps and stems. Note: if you wish, sprinkle the meringues with powdered unsweetened cocoa. Chocolate meringue can be made by adding the posdered semi-sweet chocolate while beating the egg whites at high speed. Bake 40-50 minutes keeping the oven door ajar with a spoon. When ready, a piece will be dry on the outside and soft inside. When baked, attach stems to the mushroom caps by pressing them together gently. Happy Holidays Martin Minow decvax!minow