Yotam Ottolenghi’s chocolate meringue kisses

Makes AROUND 24 Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

Preheat the oven to 100C/80C Fan/Gas1⁄4. Start by making the chocolate ganache filling because it takes time to set. Break the chocolate up into small pieces, no larger than 1cm, and place inside a heatproof bowl. Put the cream and butter in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and gently stir until it has completely melted.

Cover the surface with cling film and allow the ganache to set. This will take an hour or two at room temperature. Chilling will speed up the process but will make it more difficult to spoon out the mix.

To make the meringues, line a large, lightly oiled baking sheet with greaseproof paper and set aside. Pour the egg whites into a clean mixer bowl and start whisking on a medium speed. When the whites begin to froth up, add the sugar in a slow stream. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed and continue whisking for around 10 minutes. The meringue should be white, firm and glossy.

Use a piping bag with a small nozzle to pipe onto the lined tray roughly 48 small blobs of meringue with a long pointy end. Alternatively, you can use 2 teaspoons to shape the meringue kisses more loosely. Use a little sieve to dust the meringues lightly with cocoa powder.

Place in the oven for around 1 hour, or until the meringues are completely dry. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Once the ganache is set and the meringues are cool, use around 1⁄2tsp of ganache to stick together 2 meringues at their bases. Leave to set.

This recipe was taken from the April 2020 issue of Food and Travel.

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