Silvia's Chocolate-Swirled Meringue Kisses

These dreamy meringues, swirled with bittersweet chocolate, are about as big as your palm and as light as a handful of whipped cream. They come to you courtesy of my Instagram friend Silvia Colloca, who lives on the other side of the world, in Sydney, Australia. We've never met in person, but we both have roots in Abruzzo~ she was born there ~ and with any luck our paths will cross there one day.

Silvia is a busy woman: mother to three young children, an actress, a professional opera singer, and a cooking show host. She's also a cookbook author. (Whew!) This recipe is from her latest book, ">"Love Laugh Bake!" a collection of wonderful, mostly easygoing recipes for both savory and sweet baked goods.

In the book's introduction, Silvia writes: "As a self-taught home baker, I am enchanted by the ingenuity of the process. All of my recipes are the result of endless experiments and trials to achieve a result that satisfies both my palate and my aesthetics. Along the way there have been a number of 'epic fails,' but when it comes to baking I am driven by blind love, and I keep on going even when the obstacles seem insurmountable."

I really like that sentiment. Too many people, even those who are good cooks, turn timid when it comes to baking ~ afraid to roll out a pie crust or tackle homemade bread. Or make meringues, which are susceptible to changes in the weather, require a clean bowl and vigorous beating, and are generally known to be "tempermental."

I've had meringue failures; I've had them flatten out as they bake, or go from crispy to spongy in a couple of hours because of a seemingly imperceptible change in humidity. But, like Silvia, I keep going because I am driven ~ in this case by my love for meringues, a love that goes way back to my childhood visits to the local pasticceria near my aunts' house in Rome. Even now, many decades later and in spite of their tooth-achy sweetness, I cannot resist those lovely peaks and swirls, the milk-white shell that melts on your tongue, the slightly soft center.

So when we had a string of cold and windy days ~ dry days ~ last week, I made Silvia's meringues and they turned out beautifully, delicately crispy on the outside, with a marshmallowy middle. In other words, just how I like them. Her recipe contains both confectioners' sugar and superfine sugar. These sugars dissolve easily in the egg whites as they are being beaten. The confectioners' sugar also contains cornstarch, which helps absorb extra moisture. If you'd like to learn more about the science of meringues, read this post at King Arthur Flour.

Here are tips that I've found helpful:

1. Use an electric mixer and make sure your stainless steel mixing bowl is clean and free of any fat residue. Fat will prevent the egg whites from whipping properly.

2. Old egg whites make better meringue than fresh egg whites; because they are runnier, it is easier to beat air into them. (I seem to have a lot of leftover egg whites, which I freeze in containers.)

3. Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature before whipping them in order to properly incorporate the air. Cold egg whites will whip up eventually, but it will take longer.

4. Don't rush the baking. Meringues bake best at a low temperature, so be patient. If you prefer a completely dry meringue, let them bake a little longer than the recipe calls for (2 hours rather than 90 minutes before turning off the oven).

5. Enjoy.

SILVIA’S CHOCOLATE-SWIRLED MERINGUE KISSES

Makes 6 giant kisses, 8 big kisses, or 3 dozen bite-size kisses

Ingredients

1/2 packed cup (100 g) chopped qood-quality bittersweet chocolate

3 to 4 egg whites (100 g) at room temperature (slightly older egg whites are better than fresh; see NOTE)

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or lemon juice

Seeds scraped from 1 small vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup (75 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted after measuring

1/3 cup (75 g) superfine sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200° F (100° C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Set aside to cool.

3. Combine the egg whites, salt, cream of tartar or lemon juice, and vanilla bean seeds in the stainless steel bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure the bowl is super clean, with no fat or residue. Mix on medium-low to incorporate the ingredients, until the whites are just starting to billow, 40 to 50 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice if needed. Add the superfine sugar in the same way. Continue to whip until the sugar is completely dissolved and whites are thick, glossy, and smooth and hold firm peaks that bend just a little at the tips, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the meringue and gently swirl it in with two or three strokes of a spatula ~ no more, or you won't get the beautiful marbled effect. Reserve a few tablespoons of the chocolate if you like, to sandwich cookies together after baking (since my meringues were big, I skipped this part). Dollop big spoonfuls of meringue onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, about 1 inch apart to allow for spreading. Use a pastry bag to pipe neater meringues.

5. Gently place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 90 minutes. Check for doneness by touching the base of the cookies or carefully lifting one off the parchment; they should feel light and dry. Turn off the oven and let the meringues bake for 30 minutes more in the residual heat. Open the oven door slightly and leave it ajar; leave the cookies to cool completely.

6. If you're going to sandwich the meringues, re-melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Spread a little of the chocolate on the bottoms of half the meringues and sandwich them with the rest. Let them rest until the chocolate has set.

Store leftover meringues in an airtight container, where (if the stars are aligned) they will keep for up to 2 weeks.

NOTE: Slightly older eggs are best for making meringue; the whites are runny, which makes it easier to whip them. Conveniently, I find I have a lot of leftover whites from all the crostatas I make (the dough for the crust calls for a whole egg and two yolks). I store the whites in the freezer in small tightly lidded containers, making sure to mark how many whites are in each container.