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Recipe Detail Page
Chocolate Meringue Bites
Holiday 2014
Familiar components—a cookie base, a chocolate truffle and meringue—come together for these small but rich treats. The cookies should be baked in a mini-muffin tin to keep their shape, and can be prepared two to three days ahead or frozen for up to a month. The Italian meringue adds the pièce de resistance for the final presentation and should be made the day of serving. An Italian, or “cooked,” meringue works best since there is no oven baking involved.
Makes about 30 small servings
SABLE COOKIES
6 tbsp (90 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tbsp (90 mL) sugar
2 egg yolks
Zest of 1 small orange
½ tsp (2 ml) vanilla
¾ cup (175 mL) all-purpose flour
1½ tsp (7 mL) baking powder
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
6 oz (175 g) semi-sweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
¾ cup (175 mL) whipping cream
1½ tbsp (22 mL) unsalted butter, softened
ITALIAN MERINGUE
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
6 tbsp (90 mL) water
½ cup (125 mL) egg whites (from about 4 eggs), room temperature
1 In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks, orange zest and vanilla and beat to combine.
2 In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add to the butter mixture, beating just to combine. The dough will be very soft.
3 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4 Place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray, or butter and flour the tin.
5 On a floured surface, roll the dough about ¼ inch (5 mm) thick and cut circles about 1½ inches (4 cm) in diameter. Fit the dough rounds into the prepared muffin tin and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 18 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the cookies from the muffin tin.
6 For the ganache, place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit a minute or 2. Stir gently with a rubber spatula, beginning in the centre of the bowl and working your way to the outer edges. Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, stir in the soft butter. Cover the surface of the ganache directly with saran wrap and allow to set at room temperature, about 1 hour.
7 Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain piping tip, or using a spoon, top each sable cookie with a rounded tbsp (15 mL) of chocolate ganache. Leave a small portion of the edges of the cookie exposed.
8 Up to 4 hours before serving, prepare the Italian meringue. Place the sugar in a small saucepan. Add the water, making sure no sugar crystals are clinging to the inside of the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and place over high heat. As soon as the sugar is completely dissolved and is boiling, remove the lid. Continue boiling the sugar.
9 Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On medium speed, whip the egg whites to soft peaks.
10 Once the syrup reaches 245°F (118°C) reduce mixer speed to low and gradually pour it over the egg whites. Once all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and continue whipping the egg whites until they are stiff and no longer warm to the touch.
11 Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip or a star tip and pipe meringue over the chocolate ganache. Using a kitchen blowtorch, lightly brown the meringue. Allow the “bites” to sit at room temperature until serving.
Makes about 30 small servings
