We were in the supermarket this week, when I noticed cartons of pasteurised free range egg whites reduced from £3.10 down to just 93p. I immediately thought I could do something with that… hazelnut chocolate meringue.
I only needed the equivalent of 7 whites for this recipe, so I used the rest to make a couple of egg white omelettes for lunch the following day.
I’ve never used ‘pre-separated’ egg whites before, so I was surprised by how quickly they formed stiff peaks -barely a couple of minutes… and my mixer wasn’t even going full pelt!
I had a bit of leftover meringue, so I made a couple of tiny ones to use as garnish. They’re also lovely as a little nibble to accompany a cup of coffee.
I like my meringue quite gooey and not at all chalky – these rounds were just that. The added ground hazelnuts gave it a little extra bite and a lot of extra nutty flavour.
The addition of the Nutella chocolate sauce carried on the hazelnut flavour; if you don’t have any in your store cupboard, you can make your own!
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- 150g/5¼oz chopped hazelnuts, toasted and ground
- 385g/13½oz caster sugar
- 7 large free-range egg whites
- ½ tsp white wine vinegar
- 600ml/21fl oz whipping cream
- 3 tbsps caster sugar
- 3 tbsps Nutella
- 1 tbsp of the whipping cream
- 20g chopped hazelnuts, toasted and/or 8 chocolate-covered whole hazelnuts
- Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350°F/Gas mark 4
- Draw 4 x 18cm/7" diameter circles on baking/parchment paper, then use to line 4 lightly-greased baking sheets
- Put the egg whites in a spotlessly clean mixing bowl and whisk with an electric hand/stand mixer to to the stiff peak stage
- Add the caster sugar to the whites a tablespoon at a time, whisking back to stiff peaks each time Once you've added half of the sugar, start adding in larger quantities, whisking back to stiff peaks each time
- Once all the sugar has been added, whisk in the vinegar to form stiff peaks, then fold through the ground hazelnuts with a metal spoon or balloon whisk
- Spoon or pipe the meringues forming circles onto the baking paper to give 3 flat circles and the fourth circle swirled a bit thicker (this will form the top layer)
- Bake for 40 minutes until the edges are crisp and set and the insides are still gooey
- Take out to cool for 20 minutes on their trays, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool fully
- Before whipping, reserve 1 tbsps of the cream (it will be used in the chocolate sauce)
- Using the whisk attachment of an electric hand/stand mixer, whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks
- Set aside
- Soften the Nutella by pinging it in the microwave on a couple of 10-second bursts or over a bain-marie
- Gently stir in the whipping cream until combined
- Set aside
- On a large serving plate/cake stand, dab a spoonful of the whipped cream into the middle to hold the stack firm
- Place one of the meringue rounds on top of the dollop of whipped cream
- Pipe/spoon a ¼ of the whipped cream on top of the meringue
- Drizzle a ¼ of the chocolate sauce over the cream
- Repeat stages 2-4 until all the meringue rounds, whipped cream and chocolate sauce is used up
- Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped, toasted hazelnuts and/or chocolate-covered whole hazelnuts
- Keep covered and refrigerated