Sweethearts

By stancec44

Meringue and chocolate hearts w/a pretty raspberry sauce make an indeal St. Valentines Day dessert.

Ingredients

• 6 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. raspberry flavoring
• 3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 10-oz packages frozen raspberries, thawed & drained
• 3 c. well chilled heavy whipping cream
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp raspberry flavoring or vanilla
• Seedless raspberry jam

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Note: Don't make on rimmed sheet.

For meringues:
Preheat oven to 200. Draw 16 3" heart shapes on sheets of parchment, spacing 1 1/2" apart. Invert onto baking sheets. Beat whites w/cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1 1/2 c. sugar and beat until stiff and shiny. Mix in 1/4 tsp. raspberry flavoring. Transfer mix to pastry bag fitted w/large star shaped tip. Pipe meringue in 1/2" thick layer over hearts, covering completely. Bake 1 hour. Increase temp. to 250 and bake 10 minutes. Turn off oven and let meringues stand in oven until crisp & dry, about 3 hours.

Melt both chocolates in top of double boiler set over barely simmering water; stir until smooth. remove from over heat. Dip top of eight meringue hearts in chocolate; transfer to baking sheets. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm (can be prepared one day ahead. Stored in covered container at room temp.).

Puree raspberries in blender until smooth. Strain through fine sieve, presssing to extract as much pulp as possible. Whip cream w/6 Tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. raspberry extract (or vanilla) until firm peaks form. Transfer cream to pastry bag fitted with med. star tip; pipe cream in 1/2" thick layer over top of chocolate covered hearts. Top with plain hearts and pipe some cream over the tops.

Just before serving, film plates w/raspberry puree. Set heart in center of each plate. Spoon a little jam on top of each.