Leite's Chocolate & Cinnamon Swirl Meringues

By stancec44

These meringues are big, pillowy sugary treats. The method of adding hot sugar to the egg whites means that once cooked, the insides of the meringues stay chewy and marshmallowy while the outside is crisp. The meringues are delicious eaten on their own or with lightly whipped heavy cream and maybe a scattering of raspberries.–

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups superfine sugar (or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
• 4 to 5 large (5 1/2 ounces) egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons cocoa (either natural or Dutch-processed)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 255mins
Adapted from leitesculinaria.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

2. Pour the sugar into a small roasting pan and place in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until the sugar is hot to the touch and just barely starting to melt at the edges. Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 225°F (107°C).

3. While the sugar is in the oven, place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the salt and whisk until frothy.

4. Quickly pour all the hot sugar onto the egg whites in one go and continue to whisk on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until the meringue mixture is very stiff and white.

5. In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa and cinnamon. Pour the cocoa mixture into the meringue mixture and, using a large metal spoon, very lightly fold it in, using just two or three strokes. The trick is to keep the mixture quite marbled in appearance.

6. Spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in 4 or 6 equal-size peaky meringues. Cook on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 1 1/2 to 3 3/4 hours, until the meringues are dry and crisp throughout. (Yes, we know, that’s quite the range in time. It all depends on the size of your meringues and the humidity in your kichen.) Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet. (The cookies will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.)