I don't think I have ever made anything as beautiful as meringue in my life. I have no children, so I feel okay about saying this without being hyperbolic.
It's just sugar and egg white, but in its unbaked form, it is fluffy and glossy like a sugary wedding dress. Remember when people used to stick a Barbie in the center of a baked Alaska or some other meringue cake so it looked like she was wearing a ballgown? Of cake? Here's a link to refresh your memory. Anyway, for the first time, I actually began to believe that a Barbie might want to be embedded in a dress of meringue. It was that pretty.
This is not your everyday, go-to, homemade goodie kind of recipe. It is much more high-falutin' than that. It would make a good dessert for something a little bit fancier, like a tea party, or a bridal shower (then again, when I make dessert for a bridal shower, it's still usually something simple like a bar cookie). Here is a link to the cupcakes. However, this link includes a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb compote. The recipe in the book calls for strawberry-raspberry compote instead. Here's the recipe:
Strawberry-raspberry Compote
1 container (10 oz.) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled, and coarsely chopped
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 container (6 oz.) fresh raspberries
Bring strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice to simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3/4 c. Let cool completely before stirring in raspberries. Refrigerate up to 1 day in an airtight container.
A word of advice about the cupcakes: be careful with the creme fraiche. You can make it yourself, but I bought it at the grocery store. When I whipped it with the cream, I whipped it too long and ruined it. So be careful.
Oooh, impressive! Who got to eat these? I know a little girl who, if she ever found out that dolls and food could be combined in this way would try to insert some kind of toy into every meal for the rest of her childhood.
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