Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Chocolate Meringues

My fondest memories of my grandma involve us baking together.  We always made her two specialties - orange cake and meringues - and I vividly remember the first time my 8-year-old self decided tasting vanilla powder was a good idea.  In honor of my grandma, I made these airy and chewy chocolate meringues.  I loved how they turned out - light and fragile on the outside, yet chocolatey and almost brownie-like in the middle.


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup egg whites 
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a double boiler with simmering water and whisk until the sugar granules have dissolved.  This will take a few minutes.
  2. Remove the bowl from the double boiler.  Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar on high speed until medium peaks forms and the mixture is glossy.  It should resemble melted marshmallows. Be patient. This process will take at least ten minutes.
  3. Sift the cocoa powder over the meringue.  Sprinkle with the chopped chocolate and gently fold the mixture making sure not to deflate the meringue.
  4. Drop the meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in heaping spoonfuls.  Alternatively, pipe the meringue into bite-sized kisses. 
  5. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Above: I prefer to use Ghirardelli chocolate products while baking.
Below: The meringue should hold medium to stiff peaks. 



Above: Bite-sized piped kisses on the left.  Big dollops on the right. Larger meringues yield chewier and fudgier centers.
Below: Voila! 

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