Chocolate and hazelnut meringues...

After two weeks of gloriously warm sunshine the heavens have opened. Rain is pouring down outside and the air smells of soil. Yesterday I planned to make grilled chicken and salad for tea. Now, as I sit under my duvet withe the curtains drawn to block out the harsh reality of a rainy afternoon, all I want is stodge. Tonight we'll eat pasta instead. Strings of linguine in a basil and tomato sauce with chunks of wintery salmon. And I want a pudding. Not a stodgy autumn jam sponge or a summery crumble. Something in between.....

Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringues.....(Makes 7)




3 egg whites
4oz/115g caster sugar
4oz/115g icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
4 tbsp chopped hazelnuts

Preheat your oven to 80'c. In a clean bowl whisk up your egg whites.

I have an amazing hand whisk given to me by a recently married friend. It whisks eggs quicker than breaking them.....

But just keep going until they stand in stiff peaks....

Add the caster sugar a tbsp at a time whisking as you do. Then get a metal spoon and carefully fold in the sieved icing sugar. Be careful not to knock the air out. Sieve the cocoa over the top and cut through it with the side of the spoon (but don't beat it in). It should create a nice marbled look.

Line a baking tray. Scoop heaped tablespoons of the meringue onto a baking tray. Sprinkle each one with a tsp of hazelnuts.

Pop in the oven for 2 hours.

You know they are ready when you can easily pick them off the baking tray and tap the bottoms. They should sound hollow. These one are a bit squidgy in the middle. If you want them drier just leave them in the oven for longer.

The recipe makes seven and that's enough for one each because they are quite big. If you want to give people 2 smaller meringues I think it would make around 12.