Meringues With Figs And Chocolate Food

FORGOTTEN PUFFS (CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Beat egg whites in a glass or metal bowl until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites will form sharp peaks. Add vanilla extract and stir. Fold chocolate chips and pecans into the mixture. Drop by teaspoonful onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 minute. Turn oven off and let cookies continue to bake as the oven cools until light and crispy, 5 hours to overnight.

FIGS IN MERINGUE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks on medium speed, about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, and slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, increase the speed to high; you may need to scrape down the bowl a few times. Whisk until whites are firm but not dry, about 10 minutes more.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the meringue into 4 equal dollops on the parchment, and place 3 fig quarters in the center of each dollop. Using a small offset spatula, smooth the meringue around the bottom of the figs, sealing the bottom of each fig in meringue.
• Place baking sheet with meringue and figs on center rack of oven, and bake until meringues are firm, about 1 hour. Remove baking pan from oven, and, using a spatula, transfer meringues to a serving platter. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny and the sugar granules cannot be felt in the whites. Beat in the vanilla, reduce speed to low and add cocoa until combined. With a spatula put the egg white mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 2-inch meringue "kisses" on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the middle of oven for 2 hours. Turn off oven and leave the meringues in it for at least 2 more hours or until meringues are completely dry.

LIGHTEST EVER MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and set up a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff - the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in roughly half the sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny. If you like meringues with soft, mallowy centres, just add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar to the mix along with the sugar.
• Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the end of the piping bag to seal. Gently squeeze until meringue is visible at the end of the nozzle, then begin piping onto your lined baking sheets. Pipe spiralling circles, about 6cm wide and 3 layers high - like you would ice a cupcake to make roughly 18. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins.
• Remove from the oven - they should peel easily away from the parchment - and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.
• To make Cream & chocolate meringues for dessert, put 100g dark chocolate in a glass bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water. Carefully dip the base of each meringue in to coat, then place on their sides on a plate or tray to set. While the chocolate sets, whip 300ml double cream. Assemble the meringues in pairs and sandwich their chocolate bases together with a good spoonful of cream. Delicious served with ice cream, raspberry coulis or fresh berries.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
• Beat egg whites in a glass or metal bowl using an electric mixer on low speed until foamy. Add sugar slowly, continuing to beat until meringue is smooth, shiny, and satiny, about 10 minutes. Let stand while coating 2 baking sheets with butter and flour.
• Add cocoa powder to egg white mixture slowly, 1/2 tablespoon at a time. Beat on medium power until very smooth and evenly colored.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until each cookie comes off the baking sheet cleanly, 1 to 2 hours.

FIG AND CHOCOLATE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to (150°C/130°C fan-forced) Or 300°F Line 3 oven trays with baking paper.
• Put egg whites and the few drops of vinegar in a clean bowl. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Gently fold through figs, chocolate and hazelnuts.
• Drop tablespoons of mixture onto trays, about 3cm apart. Bake for about 40 minutes or until dry to touch. Turn off oven. Leave in the oven with the door slightly ajar for about an hour. This lets the centres dry out a bit more.
• NOTE1: To toast hazelnuts - Preheat oven to (180C) 350°F In a cookie sheet, toast hazelnuts in one layer in middle of oven 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly colored and skins start to crack open. Wrap nuts in a clean dish towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins (don't worry about skins that don't come off) and cool completely.
• NOTE 2: The meringues are a bit crumbly, so next time I am going to bake them in pretty mini muffin papers, just on a cookie sheet. They taste fantastic, but look a bit bland. So I am going to put a bit of melted chocolate on the top and then top with a toasted hazelnut.