Spooky Meringue Bones And Ghosts With A ‘Bloody’ Raspberry Compote

Mon, 23 October 2023

Ingredients:

Makes about 50 meringue bones and/or ghosts

 

For the meringue:

· 300g caster sugar

· 150g egg whites (approx. 4 eggs)

· 50g dark chocolate

 

For the compote:

· 350g frozen raspberries (or use fresh in season)

· 1 teaspoon of rose water

· Icing sugar, to taste – about 50g

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200?C.

2. Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl and put it in the oven. Heat for about 5 minutes.

3. Thoroughly clean the bowl of the stand mixer (or another large bowl) to ensure it is squeaky clean. Any oil will affect how the egg whites whisk. You can gently rub the bowl with kitchen paper soaked in some lemon juice or vinegar if necessary.

4. Pour the egg whites into the bowl. Using the whisk attachment on the stand mixer (or an electric hand whisk) whisk slowly to start, then increase the speed until you have stiff peaks. Don’t over whisk the egg whites, otherwise they will go grainy and lose volume.

5. Turn the oven down to 120?C. Slowly spoon the hot sugar into the egg whites making sure mixture comes back to stiff peaks each time. Once all the sugar is in, continue to mix for about three minutes until you have smooth, glossy, stiff mixture. It shouldn’t feel grainy, all the sugar should have melted into the mix.

6. Line several baking trays with baking parchment. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe into bone shapes or into meringue ‘kisses’ to make ghosts. Leave some space between the meringues as they will expand as they bake.

7. Put in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the meringues are firm and come off the baking parchment easily. Allow to cool.

8. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a bain marie. Dip the base of the meringue kisses in the chocolate and then use a toothpick to dot chocolate onto the meringues to make a ghost face with two eyes and a mouth.

9. To make the compote allow the raspberries to defrost if frozen. Put in a blender (or use a stick blender) with the rose water and blend to a puree. Add the icing sugar to taste. I like it quite tart as the meringues are so sweet.

10. Serve the meringues on a platter with a bowl of the ‘bloody’ raspberry compote for dipping.