Wednesday, 1 March 2017

There's more to come …

before we finish with sweet stuff for a while I promised there was more to come with the meringues.

The kisses can stay exactly as they are – perfect sized sweet little explosions – or, they can be added to fresh fruit and ice cream – be part of a “mess” like trifle – crumbled over the salted caramel ice cream. I have nothing against shop bought meringues at all but I will say there's a world of difference when you make your own.

If you've got the egg whites in the freezer it's half the battle for me since I don't need to faff about separating eggs. Just in case you weren't aware you can buy liquid egg whites in a carton – check out the chilled aisle for “Two Chicks free range liquid egg white” - 500g.

Whatever you decide to do it's great having your own stock of meringues.

Here's my next suggestion – dip them in melted chocolate.

150g plain chocolate – at least
50% cocoa solids

Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over simmering water – remember the golden rule – don't let the bowl come into contact with the water.

When your chocolate has melted set it down next to your kisses :




I'd suggest you wear gloves – very gently dip the kiss into the melted chocolate – twist slightly from right to left to ensure that the kiss is coated. Lift it out of the chocolate and wait until the excess chocolate has dropped. Set aside on a tray lined with baking parchment or kitchen roll.

Here's the dipped kiss :




Lest you should think I'm wasteful – any melted chocolate left can be turned into chocolate discs – perfect to serve with your meringues and fruit and ice cream – snap in half for a chocolate decoration. Arm yourself with a sheet of baking parchment - using a dessert spoon of melted chocolate allow it to fall onto the parchment and then use the bowl of the spoon to work into a circle. There are no rules about size, thickness of chocolate or anything else – unleash your inner Jackson Pollock!




For guidance I dipped 18 kisses and had enough leftover chocolate for 8 discs – like I said it will vary – your meringues may be a different size to mine and thickness of chocolate is a personal preference.

Let the dipped kisses and discs set – NOT in the fridge – as cool a place as possible would be perfect, you can then transfer to a tightly fitting tin or a ziplok bag.

More still …



No comments:

Post a Comment