Thursday, September 20, 2007

kaleido-swap


I joined the flickr kaleido-swap this month and the theme is "Back to School".

Kaleido-swap is cool in that you buy your swap partner something in each of 5 categories - beauty, drinks, food, animal and surprise. Everyone has to includes details of their likes and dislikes. Good huh?

Anyhoo, I thought this theme sounded cool - but then I realised how difficult it was going to be to get 'school' related items in each of those categories...[sigh]. So, I did my best with it. I've posted a photo of the wrapped bundle on flickr. Soon the innards will be on display...once it arrives safely in Paris!

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chocolate meringues with bailey's cream

Bill Granger, Aussie Chef. Worth keeping? YES!

As always, when trying this recipe I recommend using the freshest ingredients you can get hold of, and the best quality chocolate. I used Green & Black's 72% cocoa baking chocolate. This recipe makes 8 and the meringues can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.

All your utensils must be really clean and free of grease or this won't work!

4 eggwhites
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
100g good quality dark chocolate, grated
(careful of your fingers, they don't taste as good)
pinch salt

Preheat your oven to 120C.
Line a large baking sheet with grease proof paper.
Use an electric beater to whisk eggwhites and salt in a bowl until soft peaks form.
Add the sugar 1 large spoonful at a time and continue to whisk until stiff and glossy.
Gently fold through the grated chocolate.
Spoon onto baking sheet into 8 portions.
Bake for 1hr 15mins until dry and crisp.
Turn off oven and leave the door ajar for the meringues to cool.


(Pre-baked meringues. I didn't get a photo of the finished product!)

Bailey's cream
Simple stuff! 300ml of the thickest, dollopy cream around (like King Island double cream) and carefully stir through about 30 - 50mls of baileys.

Serve a meringue with a big dollop of cream and a couple of strawberries, or other berries on top. It's sure to be a hit! (Well it was for me anyway).

The meringue recipe was sourced from April 2007 Delicious. magazine.

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