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Author:
Franco Salzillo
Meringues are odd little two-biters; they’re just sweetened egg whites; who figured that out? Whoever it was, we thank him or her because meringues are incredibly sophisticated for being just a few ingredients that everyone has at home.
Meringues are delicious small bites that you can give as gifts. They’re perfect for greeting guests when coming over, too, and they’re so light and airy; there’s a luxurious feel to them.
Meringues alone are a little plain, though, so you must flavor them with something. Well, how about a combination of chocolate and coffee? This is my recipe for chocolate espresso meringues, and they’re easier to make than you think.
To make meringues, you need an electric hand mixer, or at least a firm hand, because the secret behind perfect meringues is in whipping the egg whites until they become a cloud. A pinch of cream of tartar helps with this.
Once you get there, you must add your flavoring ingredients, in this case, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and espresso powder. You’ll have to experiment a little with these to find the right sweetness. I like mine slightly sweet and never cloying. If you want yours sweeter, just add more sugar. It’s no biggie.
As for the coffee, find an excellent freeze-dried espresso; when using so few ingredients, quality matters, and the same goes for the cocoa powder, find a nice artisanal one and not the commercial stuff.
The only thing left to do is baking these beauties at medium heat for a long hour. You can’t rush these. To better enjoy these coffee and chocolate meringues, serve them with a creamy drink like a flat white or a latte.
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, add the eggs and the cream of tartar, and with an electric hand mixer, beat for 30 seconds until foamy.
Incorporate the sugar and salt slowly while beating until you get stiff peaks, about 1 minute.
Sift the cocoa powder and the espresso powder over the meringue mixture while folding to incorporate. Look for a marbled effect.
Scoop the meringue with a tablespoon over the baking tray and bake for one hour.
Remove and let cool on a rack.
