We were looking for something special to make for Valentine's Day dessert. Chef Ettore Ravazollo of Ettore's European Bakery & Restaurant recommended chocolate meringue cookies filled with chocolate whipped cream and raspberries.
That sounded almost too decadent, but he offered to stop by The Bee kitchen and whip up a batch for us to sample. Who could pass up that opportunity?
Ettore will serve this dessert at his restaurant on Valentine's Day.
Chocolate meringue hearts
Prep time: 45 minutes Cook time: 1 hour, approximately Makes 4 desserts, each 2 servings
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
12 ounces heavy whipping cream, whipped
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
2 cups fresh raspberries
Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
Combine sugar and egg whites in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Cook and stir until the mixture reaches 130 degrees. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whip it until it is thick, about 10 to 12 minutes. Gently fold in the melted bittersweet chocolate. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With the pastry bag, pipe 8 heart shapes onto the paper, filling in the center of the hearts to make heart-shaped cookies. Bake at 200 degrees for about an hour or until the cookies are dry enough to lift them from the paper. Set aside while you make the filling.
To make the chocolate whipped cream, whip 12 ounces of whipping cream until light and fluffy. Place the bowl over gently simmering water and heat the whipped cream until warm and it begins to melt around the sides of the bowl. Fold in the melted semisweet chocolate. Spread the whipped cream over four of the meringue hearts. Add a layer of raspberries over the whipped cream. Top with another thin layer of whipped cream and add a meringue heart over the top of each dessert. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar before serving.
Per dessert (2 servings): 791 cal.; 7 g pro.; 95 g carb.; 47 g fat (29 sat., 13 monounsat., 2 polyunsat., 3 other); 122 mg chol.; 84 mg sod.; 6 g fiber; 73 g sugar; 51 percent calories from fat.
