Merveilleux au Chocolat

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Thought I'd post something sumptuous for Valentine's Day. I'm cheating a bit because my daughter made this, with a little help from me. It's a lovely dessert with a meringue base, delicious chocolate cream layer, more meringue, then topped with a good layer of grated chocolate.
You could buy 2 large meringue discs to save making them. This is a recipe from my French friend, and she says it originates in the North of France.

Meringues:  2 egg whites, 60g caster sugar and 60g icing sugar
Ganache:     150g dark chocolate, 150ml single cream
Topping:      100g grated dark chocolate

It's best to make the meringues the day before, but it's up to you!

Heat oven 160C/gas3              Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets

Beat egg whites till stiff and add half of the 2 sugars. Whisk again then add the other half and whisk till shiny.
Put into a piping bag and pipe into 2 large discs onto the papers. Bake for 1hr 30mins, then turn oven off and leave meringues to cool in the oven. 

Ganache - put the cream and chocolate in a pan over simmering water. Allow to melt slowly, stirring from time to time till melted and glossy. Take off the heat and pour into a cold container, cover with clingfilm and when cool put in fridge for 4 hours. Take out and beat with a hand mixer to get a sort of Chantilly cream [liked whipped cream].

Assemble the dessert - put one of the discs onto a serving plate then cover with half the cream. Put the second disc on top and cover with the rest of the cream. cover the top generously with grated chocolate and put in the fridge for an hour. Take out just before serving.



You could make 8 small discs instead of 2 large ones. Sorry, I didn't get to see it cut as J took it back with her. Ah well!
She says - 'It's very rich and moreish. The bottom layer of meringue seems to hold it texture better than the second one, which seemed almost to dissolve into the cream! Delicious all the same. A lovely treat for an occasion such as St Valentine's Day.'

Comments

Phil in the Kitchen said…
Just the right time of year for something rich, sumptuous and delicious like this. Although I have the feeling that when I was a lot younger I didn't think this sort of dessert was rich at all. A sign of age I suppose.
11/2/19 2:49 pm
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