Dalry Mess

This dessert came out of a mistake. I was attempting to make macarons, adapting a recipe from the BBC, but the mixture wasn't thick enough so it wouldn't pipe properly. However, I decided to cook it anyway and in the process created a new dessert, which I dubbed Dalry Mess.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the meringues:

125g macadamias

200g icing sugar

3 free-range egg whites

2 tbsp caster sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

For the chocolate ganache:

100g dark chocolate, chopped

100ml double cream

1 tbsp Camp Coffee

1 tbsp Tia Maria

10g unsalted butter

After weighing out the macadamias I blasted them in the blender until they were finely ground. I then added the icing sugar and blended them until they were well combined, then passed them through a sieve to remove any lumps and setting the mixture aside once that was done.

Sieving the macadamia and icing sugar mixture

I whisked the egg whites in a large bowl at a low speed until stiff peaks formed when the whisk was removed prom the bowl. I slowly added in the cream of tartar and caster sugar to the egg whites until the mixture was smooth and then folded in the icing sugar mixture.

I dropped dessert spoonfuls of the mixture a few centimetres apart on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, banging the tray sharply on the counter top to remove any air bubbles. Then I left the tray to rest uncovered for an hour, during which time I pre-heated the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

After the hour was up, I baked the meringues for 10 minutes, then removed them from the oven and left them to cool for 5 minutes, after which I peeled off the greaseproof paper and left them to cool completely. Once cool, I crumbled them into pieces and set them aside.

While the meringues were cooling I made the chocolate ganache. For this I heated the double cream and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until they were smooth and well combined. Then I added the Camp Coffee, Tia Maria and butter to the mixture, stirring until it was smooth, then removed from the heat and left it to cool.

To serve, I placed some of the crumbled meringue in ramekins and topped it with the chocolate ganache.

Dalry Mess