Hazelnut And Chocolate Meringue
Buy or find
Egg whites, 4
Caster sugar, 250g
Vanilla essence, 1/2 tsp
White wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp
Hazelnuts, 140g, toasted and ground
Cooking chocolate, 70% cocoa, 100g, grated (don’t get tempted to process in food processor, grating is essential.)
Pure cream, 600ml, whipped
Raspberries, 250g
Strawberries, 125g, thinly sliced
Do
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
Draw a 20cm circle on each of 2 sheets of baking paper, then place each sheet on a baking tray.
Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly, for 3-5 minutes or until smooth, shiny peaks form. (If you overbeat, the mixture tends to separate, watch for this).
Add the vanilla and white wine vinegar and gently fold in with a thin metal spoon.
Add grated chocolate and hazelnuts and continue to fold.
Spread the mixture evenly into the two circles and carefully spread with a knife and spatula to make perfect rounds.
Bake for 25 minutes, then swap the trays so the lower tray is moved up and the upper tray is moved down.
Bake for a further 10 minutes.
(When done, the meringues should be slightly darker with a hard crust, they will have risen slightly and should sound hollow when tapped underneath.)
Remove from the oven and cool on the trays for 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer the meringues to wire racks to cool completely.
(At this point, the meringues can be stored in a cool dark place for up to 3 days before being assembled.)
Cover the less attractive meringue with half of the whipped cream and all of the strawberries and half of the raspberries, distributed more or less evenly.
Place the second meringue on top, spread evenly with the remaining whipped cream.
Scatter the remaining chocolate over the cream and top with neatly placed remaining raspberries.
Sometimes is use half the amount of cream. I also vary the amount of time between assembly and consumption. The longer you leave it, the softer the meringue becomes, which can be quite nice.