Monday, September 28, 2015

Nutella Meringues

Nutella Meringues 2

I love the serendipitous nature of things at times.

It's Secret Recipe Club** time again, and this month I was assigned to Shockingly Delicious, hosted by the lovely Dorothy.   With 25 years of food writing and developing behind her, Dorothy has an absolute plethora of what she describes as "scrumptious, tried and true, scary good recipes" for her readers to choose from.

Difficult though it was to choose, I had shortlisted a few recipes from Dorothy's blog that I wanted to try:  Mango Orange Cream Power Smoothie and Orange Things Fruit & Vegetable Smoothie - okay, I've been on a massive smoothie kick lately so there was no question they were going to be front runners on the list;  Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi with Kale - I have a big weakness for gnocchi, and kale is very plentiful right now, making this a very strong contender in the mix;  and Nutella Meringues - well, who even needs a "because" for Nutella meringues!!

And this is where serendipity comes into play.  While I was in the midst of an inner debate between mango smoothies and cheesy gnocchi, a friend arrived to stay for a few days bearing a box of duck eggs collected from the brother of another friend.  This occasioned a bit of a Google search for some information about using duck eggs, whereupon I discovered that apparently duck eggs make the best meringues.  Well no prizes for guessing that the decision over which dish I would make was instantly nailed.

Further serendipity came today in the form of the sister of the provider of said duck eggs coming for lunch, and being able to serve her the Nutella meringues for dessert.  Jennifer is not normally a woman of few words, but as she took a bite out of one of these babies, she had just four words to say ... "Oh.  My.  God.  Awesome".  What more can I say?!  There is actually nothing that can be said about these meringues that is not summed up in those few words.  For an "awesome" experience I urge you to try them too.

** Interested to know a little bit more about Secret Recipe Club?  Then let me explain.  The club has over a hundred members, divided into four groups, and each month one member is assigned (in secret) to another member from their group.  That person then selects a recipe (or more) to make, photograph, and prepare a blog post - all in secret.  Then everyone in the group posts their recipe on the same day, and of course the secret is then out.  It's always a thrill to find out who has posted something from your own blog, and is a great way to meet and discover some new blogs.   If you are a food blogger and interested in joining the Secret Recipe Club, be sure to check out the Join SRC page.

Nutella Meringues 1

Nutella Meringues
from Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
Makes 12 largish meringues
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1/4 cup Nutella
3x large egg whites (duck eggs if you can get them are perfect, if not free range hen eggs)
pinch of cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of sugar

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C (300 degrees F), and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Put Nutella in a small bowl and microwave for around 30 seconds to "loosen" the consistency.  Allow to cool if it has become warm.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until they are foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and salt, and continue beating until the egg whites reach a soft peak stage.  Now increase the speed to high, and begin to add the sugar one spoonful at a time, beating well after each addition to ensure that the sugar is fully dissolved - be patient!!  By the time you've finished the meringue will be very thick and glossy.

Add the Nutella to the meringue and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold the Nutella through - just enough to get a marbled effect.  Don't over mix.

Using two spoons drop dollops of meringue onto the lined baking sheet, and place in the preheated oven.  Turn the heat down to 95 degrees C (200 degrees F) and bake for one hour, by which time the meringues should feel "dry".  Turn the oven off and leave meringues in the oven until completely cold.

Remove and store in an airtight container.  Serve just as they are or sandwich together with whipped cream, then wait for the accolades.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did, and visit the links below to check out all the other great dishes my Secret Recipe Club friends made.






43 comments:

  1. Duck eggs? How lucky are you!! And to get Dorothy as well. These look delicious!

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  2. Cream in the middle too! Oh, my, they look great.

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    1. Thanks, Clare. I had actually intended to make a chocolate ganache to sandwich them together, and forgot to get chocolate when I went to the supermarket (I know ... who forgets chocolate?!). As it turned out the cream was just perfect - the chocolate ganache would have been way too sweet.

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  3. Duck eggs and Dorothy's blog - indeed, you hit the perfect score!

    great recipe, I am sure picking one was not easy... ;-)

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    1. You're right, Sally - it wasn't easy choosing, but as soon as I saw Nutella meringues it was really a no-brainer :-)

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  4. La textura se ve genial!! Sue
    Un saludito

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    1. Thanks, Miju - and thanks for stopping by - your visits are always appreciated.

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  5. These cookies look amazing! So cool that you used duck eggs--I have been wanting to try them! Great choice :)

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    1. Rebecca, it was such a treat to be given some duck eggs, and this was a great way to try them out.

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  6. I've only made meringue cookies once in my life and they were nutella flavored. They completely changed my mind from hating meringue to loving it.

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    1. I've made meringues before, but this was a first time flavouring them with Nutella - certainly won't be the last, I can tell you :-)

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  7. I'm pretty sure these will be my Christmas cookie exchange cookie! Yummo.

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    1. I think that would make you very popular indeed, Terri :-) Hard to believe it's getting to that "thinking about Christmas" time!!

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  8. I have never made meringues but I think they are going onto my list after reading this delicious recipe.

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    1. I'm not much of a baker, Wendy, but I do like making meringues - so easy and everyone always loves them.

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  9. These look delicious! I had a great time browsing your blog this month :) I made Bengali Aloo and loved the simplicity and how well it turned out!

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    1. Oh, thank you so much, Asiya. I'm so glad you like the Begali Aloo - it's one of my favourites - I really must make it again soon.

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  10. Say wha.....DUCK EGGS? Who knew! Wonderful job on the recipe, and thank you for your kind words. You applied a little bit of genius to sandwich them with whipped cream. -- Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious.

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    1. Thanks, Dorothy. This was a first time using duck eggs for me, and they really did make the lightest, crispiest meringues imagineable. The eggs themselves are surprisingly difficult to separate though, as the whites are incredibly viscous and they really wanted to cling onto those yolks. The whipped cream was a perfect foil to the sweetness of the meringue, and really worked to transform them from a "cookie" of sorts into a dessert. Thanks for the wonderful recipe - I'll be making them again.

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    2. That's interesting about duck eggs. I didn't know that. --Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious

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  11. These look fab Sue. Any friend who brings you duck eggs is worth keeping! :)

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    1. Thanks, Susan - I agree with you. Everyone should have at least one friend who keeps ducks I've decided :-)

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  12. You hit the nail on the head! Who even needs a because?! :) Great choice for reveal day!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah, and thanks for coming by - I know how busy you are :-)

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  13. My oh my are those GORGEOUS!! Awesome pick for SRC this month. :)

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    1. Thanks, Rebekah - I wish I could drop a couple around to you for a treat :-)

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  14. These look fabulous. And I am so jealous of your duck eggs. Happy Reveal day!

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    1. Thanks, Emily. I was a duck egg novice before this, but I too will suffer from duck-egg-envy in the future :-)

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  15. These nutella meringues are fantastic!

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    1. Thanks, Angie - I always appreciate your visits and kind words.

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  16. I will definitely have to try duck eggs. Those meringues look delicious! I love the swirl

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    1. If you can get your hands on some duck eggs, they are definitely worth trying. They made perfect meringues, and I'm going to try them this weekend to make an asparagus frittata.

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  17. Duck eggs - how awesome is that, who know?!
    Your meringues look awesome, and Nutella makes anything a winner.

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    1. Thanks, Lauren. Nutella is kind of akin to bacon in that way, isn't it? - it makes everything better :-)

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  18. These look amazing! And my son loves Nutella so I'll have to give these a shot!

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    1. Kate, these will win the heart of any Nutella lover for sure. Hope you enjoy them.

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  19. These sound perfectly delicious, and I have never heard of the duck egg tip, thank you.

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    1. Thanks, Abida. It was a new tip to me too. I had heard before that duck eggs were great for baking, but only just found out them being so good for meringues.

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  20. These meringues look very light and delish! I can get duck eggs so I may just try your tip.

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    1. Thanks, Sue - definitely give duck eggs a try if you are lucky enough to have ready access to them.

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