Sunday, September 20, 2009

Meringue with Pears, Hazelnuts and Chocolate Sauce



Rest assured, I am still here. I have been very bad with posting. I haven't been well, and so the kitchen is collecting cobwebs. Hopefully, I will be back soon with goodies to share. And there is still the KJ Kitchen Aid Challenge. The finish line is in sight!!!



In the meantime I have searched the archives, or should I say archive, for a post. This pear hazelnut meringue was looking awfully sad rattling around in there all on its loneseome. It was time to release it to the world.



Shame on me for keeping it hidden for so long, because it is so good. I adore meringue in any form. But the pear chocolate sauce is an added bonus. It is so, so delicious.

There is nothing particularly tricky here. The most important thing in making meringue is to keep beating until the sugar is dissolved in the egg whites. Maximum result for minimal effort.



Meringue with Pear, Hazelnuts and Chocolate Sauce
(adapted from Jamie at Home)

4 large egg whites
200gm golden caster sugar
pinch of salt
100gm hazelnuts, toasted
2x400gm tins of pears, in syrup
optinal: 2 pieces stem ginger, chopped
200gm dark chocolate
400ml double cream
50gm icing sugar, sifted
1 vanilla pod, halved and seeds scraped
zest 1 orange

Whisk egg whites to firm peaks. Gradually add the sugar and salt. Whisk at high speed for 7-8 minutes, until the mixture is white and glossy and all the sugar is dissolved.

Spoon the meringue onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in a 150C oven and for an hour, until crisp on the outside and a little soft and sticky on the inside. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Drain the pears and reserve the syrup. Slice the pears into thin wedges. Pour the syrup into a saucepan with the ginger and warm gently to simmering point. Take off the heat and add the chocolate, stir until melted.

Whip the cream, vanilla seeds and icing sugar to soft peaks.

Smash the hazelnuts to small pieces. Scatter half over the top of the meringue. Spoon over half the cream and drizzle with some of the chocolate sauce. Divide most of the pear pieces over the top. Pile on the rest of the cream and pears. Drizzle over more sauce and the rest of the hazelnuts. Sprinkle over the orange zest. Serve straight away.

23 Comments:

At 6:10 am, Blogger Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Thank goodness you have revealed this to the world...it is too good to be hidden in the blogosphere.

 
At 6:58 am, Blogger Helen said...

I saw Jamie O making this on the television a while ago and it looked as good then as it does in your blog now. Another one to add to my to-do list!

 
At 10:57 am, Blogger Kristin said...

Oh dear. This is not something I should be reading about at breakfast.

It looks wonderful!

 
At 1:47 am, Blogger grace said...

i'm not too keen on meringues for some reason (which goes against every fiber of my dessert-loving self), but i love how you've dressed this one up--it's a looker, all right!

 
At 11:11 am, Blogger Roving Lemon said...

This sounds like such a great combination of flavors! Thanks for freeing it from the archives.

 
At 4:59 pm, Blogger Katie said...

Wow they look so good and the flavours sound wonderful.

 
At 7:56 am, Blogger Karine said...

I hope you will feel better soon!

Your dessert seems so decadent, can you send me a piece, please?

 
At 11:09 am, Anonymous Terr said...

your site looks great.keep up the good work!!

 
At 3:50 am, Blogger Elle said...

Awesome dessert! Thanks for sharing it. Have you picked out a color for that KA mixer? You have persevered so it will be exciting to see what you choose!

 
At 12:10 pm, Anonymous penny aka jeroxie said...

Ohhhh dear! I've found your blog and now I am hooked. So many delicious goodies here.

 
At 4:20 pm, Blogger Pumpkin-eater said...

This looks pretty amazing.

Since you don't have the Kithcen Aid yet, did you whisk the whites by hand?

 
At 4:46 pm, Anonymous Ares download said...

What a wonderful recipe! Thanks for sharing this with us. I will definitely be trying it out.

 
At 10:46 pm, Blogger KJ said...

Thanks everyone.

Elle - it is going to be pistachio green. I will get there eventually!

 
At 11:21 pm, Anonymous aumentar el pene said...

This just looks fabulous.

 
At 4:58 am, Anonymous penny aka jeroxie said...

What a wonderful recipe! Thanks for sharing this with us. I loved it. I put patan ghee into it and the taste really got ameliorated...

 
At 12:02 pm, Anonymous Tasty Thailand said...

I could eat meringue all day, every day. This looks unbelievably good. What a great combination of ingredients and nice photos!!

 
At 2:13 pm, Anonymous chuck said...

The recipe is really wonderful! i wonder what is the next recipe you would be sharing =) thank you!

 
At 10:11 am, Anonymous Logan G said...

Those desserts look heavenly. I love meringue and I never though of putting them with pears. I have been looking for a good dessert that is fancy but not that fatty. Thanks for this.

 
At 3:47 am, Anonymous retro sweets said...

I love meringue!! Wow, thanks for sharing this. Your recipe looks far better than what I usually have.

 
At 7:17 pm, Anonymous Abigail said...

Wow this looks absolutely good and probably taste delicious. I can’t wait to try this at home.

 
At 11:10 am, Anonymous house cleaning cincinnati said...

I definitely loved every little bit of it.

 
At 9:30 pm, Anonymous Sam said...

OMG!!! This is incredible.

 
At 6:29 pm, Anonymous Wendy said...

Your recipe is wonderful.Thanks for sharing a very tasty recipe.I'd be looking forward more recipes from you.

 

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