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Preparation time
less than 30 mins
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Cooking time
30 mins to 1 hour
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Serves
Makes 24 small meringues
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Dietary
Vegetarian
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By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen[row]
Ingredients
For the meringues
- 100g/3½oz dark chocolate, melted
- 100ml/3½fl oz caramel sauce
- 4 free-range egg whites
- 225g/8oz caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp vanilla sea salt flakes (optional)
For the praline
- 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
- 100g/3½oz pecan nuts
For the date sauce
- 250g/9oz caster sugar
- 250ml/9fl oz double cream
- 10 toffee dates, chopped
For the orange
- 1 blood orange, segmented and zest julienned
For the cream
- 250g/9oz double cream
- 250g/9oz mascarpone cream
Method
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To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1 and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Combine the melted chocolate with the caramel sauce and set aside. In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites and sugar for 10 minutes until the mixture forms stiff peaks then stir in the vanilla, cornflour and vinegar. Spoon 1 large tablespoon of mixture at a time onto the lined tray to make 24 small meringues, then swirl in the chocolate and caramel sauce. Sprinkle over some vanilla salt, if using. Bake for 1 hour.
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To make the praline, place the sugar in a dry frying pan and heat until you reach a caramel colour. Do not stir, but you can swirl the pan. Spread the nuts on a lined baking tray and pour the caramel over the nuts. Leave to cool before breaking into pieces.
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To make the sauce, place the sugar in a dry frying pan and heat until you reach a caramel colour. Do not stir, but you can swirl the pan. Add the double cream on the heat and whisk until well combined. Stir in the dates.
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For the orange, blanch the julienned zest three times until softened. Set aside the zest and the segments.
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To make the cream, whisk the cream and mascarpone together in a large glass bowl.
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To serve, place the meringues on a serving plate. Quenelle the cream on top, spoon over the date sauce and garnish with the praline, orange segments and blanched orange zest.