Rosie Makes: Chocolate Meringue Kisses

We’re coming to the end of the Spring “hungry gap” with early strawberries and the temptation of Summer fruit almost in sight, but in the meantime I thought I would share a few staple recipes such as these chocolate meringue kisses. They’re great for using up egg whites (I made them after my banana custard choux buns and all those yolks!) and make a lovely gift. I didn’t manage a step by step, but I’ve got lots of other meringue recipes where you can see what you’re aiming for! To make them, you will need:

150g egg whites
300g caster sugar
(basically twice as much sugar as you have egg white)
Chocolate for dipping (about 50g will cover a dozen)
Toasted almonds or freeze dried raspberries, to decorate (optional).

Pour your egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer, beating slowly to form bubbles that will stabilise the mixture. Then increase the speed until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar, a spoonful at a time, and whisk until all incorporated and no grainy bits remain in the meringue mixture.

Spoon your mixture into a piping bag with a plain, 1 cm nozzle and pipe kisses onto a lined baking tray by holding the bag at a 90 degree angle to the tray and squeezing from a height of around 2cm – stop squeezing after a few seconds and pull upwards to get the nice peaks. Bake at 120C Fan for 40 – 45 minutes until the meringues come off the tray easily. Cool and dip in chocolate and decorate to your taste – toasted nuts and freeze dried fruit are my favourite.