Chocolate Fig And Walnut Meringue Recipes

FIG AND WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• For the pastry dough: Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to blend. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the egg mixture and mix with a fork until the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough in 2 and flatten into disks. Wrap the dough disks in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, for the filling and cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the figs and raisins in a food processor. Add the honey, orange juice, cinnamon, and lemon zest, and pulse just to blend. Scrape the fig mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in the walnuts. Transfer the fruit mixture to a pastry bag.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough on a floured work surface to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out dough rounds. Gather the dough scraps into a disk, then cover and refrigerate while assembling the cookies. Spoon the fruit mixture in the center of each dough round. Lightly moisten the edges of the dough with the egg wash. Fold the dough over the filling and press the edges to seal. Arrange the cookies evenly apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops of the cookies with egg wash. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 18 minutes.
• Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. Repeat with the refrigerated dough scraps and remaining filling.

MERINGUES, CHOCOLATE WALNUT

Steps:

• Directions
• 1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• 2. In a medium, clean, grease-free bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and whip until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, whipping until stiff but not dry peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by generously rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
• 3. Bake until completely firm and dry, but still white, about 25 minutes; you should be able to lift cookies from pan. Slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely.

AUNT GRETA'S WALNUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Whip the egg white with a whip attachment until stiff.
• Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt and continue whipping until stiff and glossy. Fold in the walnuts.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and remove from the pan. Store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE & WALNUT PAVLOVA WITH MADEIRA & TANGERINES

Steps:

• Roughly chop the tangerines. In a bowl, toss the tangerines with the madeira until thoroughly coated, then set aside to macerate.
• Heat othe oven to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl or stand mixer until soft peaks form. Without stopping whisking, gradually add the sugar and whisk until thick and glossy, then whisk in the vinegar too. Toss the walnuts in the melted chocolate, then fold into the egg so the meringue is marbled with chocolate.
• Spread a circle of the chocolate and walnut meringue about 20-25cm in diameter on each baking sheet. Bake for 2 hrs until crisp but slightly soft in the middle - don't worry if it cracks; it will still taste delicious. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the meringues and parchment onto wire racks to cool. Peel the parchment from the meringues, then use a wide palette knife to lift one meringue onto a serving platter or cake stand.
• Whip the cream to soft peaks, being careful not to over whip. Fold in half the tangerines and the madeira used to soak them. Spread just over half the cream mixture onto the meringue, then top with the other layer of meringue, the remaining cream and the rest of the tangerines. Sprinkle over the grated dark chocolate and serve. Can be made a day ahead and chilled in the fridge.

FIGS IN MERINGUE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks on medium speed, about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, and slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, increase the speed to high; you may need to scrape down the bowl a few times. Whisk until whites are firm but not dry, about 10 minutes more.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the meringue into 4 equal dollops on the parchment, and place 3 fig quarters in the center of each dollop. Using a small offset spatula, smooth the meringue around the bottom of the figs, sealing the bottom of each fig in meringue.
• Place baking sheet with meringue and figs on center rack of oven, and bake until meringues are firm, about 1 hour. Remove baking pan from oven, and, using a spatula, transfer meringues to a serving platter. Serve immediately.

HAZELNUT MERINGUES WITH HAZELNUT PRALINE & CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/gas 1. For the meringues, whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar and continue whisking until stiff, add the icing sugar and ground nuts, then gently fold through until evenly combined. Line a baking tray with baking paper and pipe or spoon out rounds of meringue into 7cm discs. Bake for 1½-2 hrs until crisp outside but still soft in the centre. Leave to cool. You need 3 rounds per person. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for about 1 week.
• To make the hazelnut praline, warm a small heavy-based pan over a medium heat and cook the caster sugar until it melts and turns a rich caramel colour. Carefully swirl the hazelnuts around the pan (be careful, the sugar is very hot) and allow them to caramelise and brown - about 2 mins. Pour the mixture out onto a tray lined with baking paper. Leave to cool.
• Make the chocolate sauce by heating together 75ml water, the caster sugar and cocoa powder until boiling. Pour over the chocolate and whisk well until smooth.
• To serve, whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Finely chop the cooled praline by hand or in a food processor. Stir most of it through the whipped cream, setting a little aside. Place a meringue disc on each plate and top with a little of the cream. Add another disc, more cream, followed by the final disc. Top with icing sugar, cocoa powder and some of the reserved chopped praline, then spoon around some chocolate sauce