Oeufs à la Neige

Procedure for meringue

1. Allow egg whites to come to room temperature. In a mixing bowl fitted with a whipping attachment, whip egg whites along with cardamom and cream of tartar until frothy and smooth.
2. Slowly begin to incorporate sugar, ½ Tbsp. at a time. Allow mixture to whip with the previous added sugar for 1 minute until adding the next amount. Continue whipping until very glossy and stiff peaks have formed.
3. Once finished, add mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large crown tip. Pipe half of the mixture onto a parchment lined tray into roughly 1- to 1 ½-inch diameter star-shaped cookies while leaving the rest of the mixture in the bag and transferred to refrigerator.
4. Bake the piped meringue in a preheated 215°F oven for 45 minutes. Be sure to check your meringues periodically, as oven temperatures and speeds may vary.
5. Remove meringue from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, place in a dry container and store at room temperature.

Procedure for anglaise

1. Place milk, cream and vanilla in a medium sauce pot and slowly bring to just before a simmer.
2. While heating, add yolks and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and slightly frothy.
3. When vanilla cream mixture is warm, add 1 cup to the eggs and blend until smooth. Then add that mixture back into the remaining milk, cream and vanilla.
4. When everything is mixed, place into original mixing bowl and set on top of a medium sauce pot with simmering water. Gently stir custard mix with a rubber spatula while scraping sides continuously until custard starts to thicken.
5. Once the custard can stick to the back of a spoon, transfer to a shallow container and place plastic wrap directly onto the mixture to avoid a crust forming. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Reserve for plating.

Procedure for compressed berries

1. Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl a gently toss.
2. Add mixture to a vacuum bag and seal to compress berries. Allow berries to marinate for 1 hour before opening and pouring both berries and juice into a container for service.

Assembly

1. Assemble berries in small piles randomly on desired serving dish.
2. Pipe unbaked meringue into equally sized dollops as of the baked meringues and very quickly brown with a torch while on plate.
3. Fill in empty spaces with be baked meringues, leaving a generous empty space for the anglaise.
4. Fill empty space and serve cold immediately.