High-SocieTea
"Where the Art and Elegance of Taking Tea is Treasured"
Looking like little star bursts on your Afternoon Tea table, these Chocolate-Laced Meringues will have your guests fooled into thinking they are indulging in a rich treat. But, you can eat as many as you like and not worry about your waistline. They are light and airy and will pack very little punch on your bathroom scale.
2/3 cup sugar
"Fantistico Cocoa"
3-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened
cocoa powder
Dash ground cinnamon
4 egg whites, warmed to room
temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 squares (2 oz.) semisweet
chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven to 250E. Line two baking sheets with nonstick aluminum foil.
In a bowl, mix together sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, pour in the egg whites and add the cream of tartar.
Using an electric beater with the whip, beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy.
Increase the speed to medium and add the sugar mixture one spoonful at a time until medium-stiff peaks form.
Spoon the meringue mixture into a pastry bag with a large star tip attached. Pipe the meringue into star shapes onto the baking sheets. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. DO NOT open the oven door as this may cause the meringues to fall.
Turn off the oven and let the meringues sit inside for another half hour to one hour. Remove them from the oven and transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Then, place the meringues onto sheets of waxed paper.
In a small bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate for about 1 minute, then stir until smooth. If needed, microwave longer until the melted chocolate is smooth. Spoon the chocolate into a plastic bag and snip off a tiny bit of one corner. Pipe the melted chocolate back and forth across the meringues. Let the chocolate harden and store them in airtight containers at room temperature. Makes about 40 meringues.
Fill up your tiered server with these guilt-free sweet treats and put out a pot of Stash’s Chocolate Hazelnut tea. You and your guests can satisfy your sweet tooth over and over again and not have to worry about fitting into those tight jeans!
Calories per serving: 20
