Chocolate Meringue Cookies, Chocolate Yogurt Ganache and Honeyed Raspberries

March 28th, 2014  |  11 Comments

It’s no surprise that we are not feather-weights around here. We like our cream and butter. This IS a pastry blog after all. So imagine my amazement when Mia from Shari’s Berries dropped me a note to talk to me about health and fitness — two words that sound as foreign to me as jibing (a sailing term) and spelunking (a cave explorer’s term). She graciously let me know that there was a focus on health and nutrition in the month of March, and might I be able to come up with a healthier recipe utilizing chocolate for their Fit for Fitness campaign, something along the lines of these Chocolate Sables.

Ohhhhh! Chocolate! Well that’s a whole ‘nother ballgame! Of course I want to swim in the seas of chocolate. Any excuse will do.

Truth be told, I never had a fat day in the restaurant kitchen. Even though I was surrounded by treats Willy Wonka would weep over, I just didn’t gain any weight. Could it be the 14-hour-straight shifts of running around, up the stairs, down the stairs, heaving 50 pound bags of flour, and sweating it up during a frantic, sweaty dinner service? In fact, just about every chef I’ve ever met was shaped like a lollipop — big head (ego), skinny body. Myself included. After toiling in food all day, the last thing any of us wanted to do was eat. Especially our own food.

But for me, those days are done. Now, if I so much as breath in any calorie-laden fumes, my wiggle gets more jiggle. I’m just prone. Creating something seemingly decadent, yet quite light makes total sense for me and this was just the challenge I needed. I thought about the types of desserts that are inherently light, and worked around that. Meringues, for example, are pumped full of air. Who gains weight by eating air?

And although I do love meringue cookies on their own, I wanted to elevate them a bit and showcase their beautiful appearance and texture. Another component we all think of when mulling over lighter sweets is fruit. And raspberries is a classic partner to chocolate. And what else do we think of when eating well? Yogurt. Why not add more chocolate to yogurt? All in all this, dessert is hardly a dessert! What with all the fruit, egg whites, and yogurt, I’d dare say this could keep you alive for years!

Chocolate Meringue Cookies with Chocolate Yogurt Ganache, and Honey-Glazed Raspberries

I got about 20 smaller cookies out of this — lets say 2-inchers, but you can try big, cloud-like puffs and get 10.

For the chocolate meringue cookies:
4 egg whites
3/4 cup (170 g) sugar
3 oz bittersweet chocolate (around 60-70%, to keep it healthy)

For the honeyed raspberries:
about a cup and a half raspberries
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon orange zest

For the Chocolate Yogurt Ganache:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, (60-70%)
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup (250 g) plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar

1. The meringue loot. Just 3 ingredients! Woohoo! Start by preheating that oven to 275 degrees F. It’s a low temperature, and we’re basically looking to “dry” these out, without getting a browning effect.

Into a bowl go the egg whites and sugar. The bowl needs to be big enough to accommodate some whipping. You can do this with an electric mixer, a handheld mixer, or just a big bowl, if you are buff enough to do this manually, with a whisk.

 Place your bowl over a pot of boiling water that is hopefully small enough to keep the bottom of your bowl from touching the water.

Don’t waste a second. Whisk quickly so that the eggs don’t start to cook into a sugar omelette. All we are trying to do is warm this mix, which should only take a moment. This will make for a much more stable meringue — one that no one is going to over-whip.

It will indeed start to froth up. Test it every few seconds by sticking your (hopefully recently washed) finger in there. If it feels like a nice, warm bath that you wouldn’t mind climbing into, it’s ready.

Go to town with the whipping. Don’t be shy and rev that engine on high! Because we heated this first, it won’t likely overwhip and curd up on us, like an unheated meringue is prone to do. This will go for about 3 good minutes.

While that’s working, melt your chocolate.

And when your world starts to look billowy, and thick…

with some stiff peaks…

You can go ahead and start drizzling the chocolate over the top.

Carefully, and delicately, fold this together. And be quick about it, too. The heat from the chocolate starts to degrade the lovely air we just worked so hard to whip in. Keep the strokes to a minimum to get the lovely marbling. Drizzle in a little more chocolate over the top if you want more streaks.

Plop these clouds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Dang, I need to buy some new ones!) I did heaping tablespoons, which will grow to double in size in the oven. If you want a fist-sized cookie, go bigger.

If you’re feeling jazzy, you can use a fork to manipulate some claws out of the top. Just grab a little and pull upward in spots.

Pop them in the oven for about 1 hour for the smaller cookie, and 1 hour and 15 minutes for a bigger cookie. They’ll be crispy on the outside and chewier on the inside. If you want a more crispy result throughout, just dry them out longer, perhaps 15 more minutes. Let cool.

When you are about ready to serve, you can macerate the berries. Sugar releases the fruit’s liquid. Here are the goods.

Say what? Three ingredients again!?

Add the honey…

And zest. I kinda wish I used a fine grater, or chopped this up. That’s really what I recommend doing. Stir it up. It’ll look dry now, but in a moment it will look juicy. It’s no big deal if you crush some of the berries.

While the berries are waiting, lets quickly throw together the yogurt ganache. Ok, this time, 4 ingredients, sorry.

Pour sugar and milk into a pot, and heat them until the sugar is melted.

Off the heat, add the yogurt…

…and whisk.

Pour this over the melted chocolate…

…and whisk it up. It will be a mousse-like, happy consistency.

You can plate this up by dropping a blob of yogurt mousse on a plate, then some raspberries, then a meringue or two, depending on how many “light” things you want to eat. Some of the raspberry juices have been drizzled around the plate too, just to be schmancy.

Now go eat a burger, you’re wasting away!