Rich Raspberry Meringue with White Chocolate Swirls

Raspberry Meringues With White Chocolate Swirls

This dessert is rich! This recipe will produce 8 large meringue puffs. I have never tried to half the recipe, but I will next time. My husband and I could have shared one puff. If you're having a party, though, one could easily miniaturize the size of the meringue puffs.

I don't appreciate the texture of the meriningue as much the next day. But, in a pinch (as dinner parties do usually feel), the puffs could be made the day before and stored into airtight containers. Simply use parchment paper in between the layers of meringues. Then, about 1/2 hour before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, chopped pistachios, and sprinkle a few fresh raspberries. However, when I plan to serve these, I like to start off by creating this dessert first. Then, while it is baking, I continue creating other dinner items.

I like this dessert because it's just something a little different than the desserts one chooses to serve. It truly creates a spectacular dessert that will impress your dinner guests!

Ingredients

• 5 egg whites
• pinch of salt 1 ½ cups superfine sugar (not the same as confectioners sugar)
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 3 oz. White chocolate chip
• 1 ¼ cups raspberries
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks (a topping for the baked meringue)
• 2 tbsp chopped pistachios (a topping for the baked meringue)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Place egg whites into clean bowl with salt. Use the whisk attachment (or hand held beaters) to whisk the eggs until stiff. Slowly whisk in the sugar 1 Tbsp at a time. At this point, the eggs should be glossy and very stiff. Add the corn starch and vinegar and mix again. 

whisked meringue (look for stiff peaks)

2. Melt chocolate by place them into a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, nestle a glass bowl onto a saucepan of simmering water. Use a pot holder to hold the glass bowl while stirring the chocolate until it melts.

melting chocolate

3. Spoon the meringue mixture onto the parchment paper on baking sheet to make a large meringue puff. Take 4 raspberries and a heaped teaspoon of the melted white chocolate and swirl them into the puff. I used a baby spoon to integrate the raspberries and melted chocolate. Take care to not flatten the puff. Try to incorporate as much of the white chocolate into the meringue. If it is exposed, it may brown during baking.

Meringue puff with raspberries and melted, white chocolate sitting on top.

After integrating the white chocolate and rapberries

4. Place the baking sheet of meringues into the oven for 5 minutes at 350F. After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 275F and bake for 45 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and leave to cool. Once cooled, transfer to a wire rack. Top with spoonfuls of whipped cream, a few of the reserved berries, and some pistachios.

After baking, cool, transfer to serving dish and place toppings. Now enjoy!

Credits: This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, "Small Bites" by Jennifer Joyce. In her book, Jennifer recommends other variations for this dessert; such as, dark chocolate with flaked almonds, dried coconut with mango and blueberries, or banana with caramel sauce and whipped cream.  

If you try this dessert, let me know how it went for you. And if you create your own variation, I would love to hear about it!

Buen Provecho,

Elsa