Take your meringues to another level by adding chocolate! These easy to make chocolate meringue nests are crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle and very chocolatey.
I am a massive fan of meringues and it would seem by the popularity of my meringue nests recipe that you all are too, so I thought I’d create a recipe for chocolate meringue nests if you fancied something a bit different. These chocolate meringue nests are made from the same basic french meringue recipe but with added cocoa powder and grated dark chocolate.
I have such a sweet tooth so when it comes to chocolate I usually err more towards the sweeter white and milk chocolate varieties, but for these meringue nests I find that dark works best as the slight bitterness is offset by the sweetness of the meringue. I’ve even made them with an 80% dark chocolate and didn’t find them too bitter. I’ve topped mine with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh fruit. However you could top them with pretty much anything that goes with ice cream, chocolate, perhaps adding some caramel, or maybe whipping some Baileys into the cream for something more grown up! They’d also work really well as the base for my mini black forest pavlovas.
I’ve chosen to pipe my meringue nests (I used a JEM 1B nozzle) as I like how neat they look. If you’re not a fan of piping or don’t have a suitable nozzle you could simply dollop a generous spoonful onto a baking tray and then use the back of the spoon to make a small indent in the centre. If you want to add a bit of texture you could then use the tip of a sharp knife or skewer to swirl the meringue around a bit. If you’re planning on piping them then you’ll need a fairly large nozzle as the finely grated chocolate would clog anything smaller.
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Chocolate Meringue Nests
INGREDIENTS
- 4 large egg whites
- 200 g caster sugar
- 50 g dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat the oven to 100ºC/80ºC fan.
- Finely grate the dark chocolate (50g).
- Put your 4 egg whites into a large bowl and whisk on a low speed until foamy. Once foamy, increase the speed to medium until the egg whites form stiff peaks.
- Add the caster sugar (200g) a tablespoon at a time and whisk at a medium speed until combined. Continue to whisk until your meringue is stiff (if you remove the whisk it'll stand up in a peak).
- Sift the cocoa powder (1 tbsp), and then add the cocoa powder and grated chocolate to the meringue mixture. Fold in the cocoa and chocolate until everything is evenly distributed.
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or a non-stick baking sheet (I love these bake-o-glide sheets).
- Put your meringue mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
- Start by piping a dot in the centre of your meringue nest, then in one continuous motion go around the dot twice to make a bigger circle and then go around the outside twice to build the sides. If you don’t really like piping then you can simply make 10 dollops of meringue on your baking sheet then use the back of a tablespoon to make a dent in the centre. There’s a little video here if you’d prefer to watch how piping is done.
- Bake the meringues for 1 hour 45 minutes. Once cooked turn off the oven and leave them to cool in the oven. It’s best to leave them to cool slowly in the oven but if you’re in a bit of a hurry then remove them from the oven and cool them on a rack (they’re slightly more likely to crack if cooled more quickly).
- Serve.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Corn-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
These can easily be made dairy-free by ensuring you choose a dairy-free dark chocolate.
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Nadia says
These look delicious,I’m just wondering though in the photo it looks like the berries are sitting in some sort of creamy mixture,is there whipped cream?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, just a dollop of whipped cream. You could also use sweetened cream, crème fraiche or pastry custard.
Mel says
Charlotte, your meringues always make me feel so peckish! These little babies look delicious. In this weather, I’d probably top them with a scoop of ice cream 🙂 Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Charlotte Oates says
Ooh I want one with a scoop of ice cream now too!
Chloe says
Oh my goodness me I need to try these. Luckily I’ve just stocked up on my dairy free chocolate #freefromfridays
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Chloe. Which is your favourite dairy-free chocolate? I’ve only tried a couple.
Rebecca Smith says
These are so beautiful, I love them, my family will love them too…perfect for summertime too, not too heavy on the tummy and full of seasonal fruit x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I’m a huge fan of meringues too Charlotte, but I’ve never tries them with chocolate inside -but looking at your pics I can just imagine how good it is. I too aren’t a huge fan of dark chocolate, but I totally agree that the sweetness of the meringue would balance out that bitterness of dark chocolate perfectly.
Angela x
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Angela, I’d definitely recommend you give them a try! Usually I find dark chocolate too bitter but these with milk chocolate would be overly sweet.
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
So pretty! But then I am a sucker for chocolate meringue and for berries too….. x
Charlotte Oates says
Who isn’t! 🙂
Monika Dabrowski says
I love the idea of adding dark chocolate into meringues! These meringues look and sound gorgeous, and although they do take a while to bake they are certainly worth the wait. You can’t rush a good meringue:) Thank you for bringing this lovely recipe to #CookBlogShare!
Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook says
I love them but mine don’t look as pretty as yours! Mine are more freestyle!! Elinor x
Charlotte Oates says
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of freestyle, it’s really the flavour that counts 🙂