Recipe
Ingredients:
(Serves 4-6)
For the Meringue:
4 egg whites
Pinch of table salt
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g dark chocolate, 85% finely chopped
2 tbls Cocoa powder, sieved
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp chipotle chilli powder
For the Topping:
350mls Fresh cream
2 tbls caster sugar
500g berries of your choice, ie strawberries, raspberries, blueberries
Method:
Preheat you oven at 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Put the egg whites and salt in the bowl of your stand up mixer and beat them until they start forming soft peaks, add the caster sugar gently, one spoonful at a time until the egg whites become stiff, silky and shiny. Stop beating.
Add the vanilla extract and gently fold the rest of the ingredients making sure to not overmix as we want to avoid knocking the air out of the meringue base.
Pour the meringue onto the prepared baking tray forming a circle. You can pre-draw in your parchment paper whichever shape of a meringue you want, but I like round shapes.
Place in the oven and immediately lower the heat of the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Cook the meringue for 1 hour to 1 hour and 25 minutes. The meringue should look dry and crispy on the sides, with a few cracks. Switch the oven off
and leave the door ajar to allow the meringue to cool down gently. I usually leave it for 4 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to assemble, transfer the meringue to a serving plate.
Put the cream in a bowl and whisk it until it starts forming soft peaks, add the sugar, one spoonful at a time and continue whisking until you achieve your desired thickness, I like my cream firm, but still soft.
Spread the cream over the meringue, which should be completely cold by now and top it with your berries. You can sprinkle a few shards of chocolate on top.
