Nick Malgieri
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Nick Malgieri

Swiss Chocolate Meringue Globes

More an individual dessert than a cookie, these are adapted from that great work Swiss Bakery and Confectionery by Walter Bachmann, a Swiss pastry chef living in London in the 1940s.  Piping the half-sphere bases takes a little practice but it isn’t really difficult. Makes about 15 individual filled meringues

Chocolate Almond Meringue

4 large egg whites

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup/4 ounces ground almonds

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Ganache Filling

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup or golden syrup

6 ounces 65% bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, very soft

 

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, melted, for finishing

2 cookie sheets or jellyroll pans covered with parchment

  1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees.
  2. For the meringue, bring a small pan of water to a boil.  Whisk the egg whites, salt, and half the sugar together by hand in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Set over the pan of boiling water and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot (140 degrees), about 2 to 3 minutes.  Place on the mixer with the whisk and whip on medium speed until beginning to increase in volume.  Add the remaining sugar a tablespoon at a time, continuing to whip until the meringue is light and fluffy but not dry.  Off the mixer, use a rubber spatula to fold in the almonds and sugar being careful not to over mix.
  3. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tube (Ateco #806) and pipe 15 half-spheres of the meringue on each pan.
  4. Bake the meringues until firm and crisp outside but still moist within, about 30 minutes.  Cool on the pans.
  5. While the meringues are baking, make the filling:  whisk the cream and corn syrup together in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer.  Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer and cool to room temperature.  Once the cream has cooled, whisk in the cooled chocolate, followed by the butter.  Cool the ganache until it is set, but not hard, or refrigerate it for a few minutes only to hasten the process.
  6. To assemble, turn half the meringues flat side upward.  Beat the ganache for a few seconds on medium speed with the paddle attachment and pipe a mound of ganache on the flat side of half the bases.  Top with the remaining bases, flat side down, and press gently to adhere.
  7. Streak the tops of the assembled pastries by putting the melted chocolate into a small non-pleated plastic bag, forcing it into one corner, and snipping the end.
  8. Serve the meringues on the day they are made; wrap and store leftovers at a cool room temperature.