Meringue Spheres with Chocolate Mousse, Ginger & Cherry Compote
Delicate Swiss meringue half-spheres filled with dark chocolate mousse and a ginger-spiced cherry compote, finished with white chocolate shavings and cocoa powder.
⏱️ Prep: 60 min🍳 Cook: 130 min
Nutrition
per 1 piece280
Calories
4g
Protein
35g
Carbs
14g
Fat
Ingredients
| 60 g | Egg whites | |
| 120 g | Caster sugar | |
| 20 cl | Whipping cream, 30% fat | |
| 100 g | Dark chocolate | |
| 200 g | Cherries, Burlat (or frozen griotte) | |
| 2 cm | Fresh ginger root, peeled | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Quatre épices (four spice mix) |
| 40 ml | Honey | |
| as needed | White chocolate shavings | |
| as needed | Cocoa powder | |
| as needed | White/pink chocolate straws (optional) |
Instructions
- Make the Swiss meringue: combine egg whites and caster sugar in a stand mixer bowl and whisk together, then set over a bain-marie and whip until hot (it should sting slightly when touched — do not let it coagulate).
- Transfer to the stand mixer and beat at maximum speed until completely cooled.
- Pipe the meringue into a piping bag (5mm plain nozzle) and fill the cavities of a half-sphere silicone mould in a spiral from the base up, keeping it fairly thick so it releases cleanly.
- Dry at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake at 80°C for about 2 hours; cool in the switched-off oven.
- For the cherry compote: stem and pit the cherries (or use frozen griotte cherries), add the sliced ginger, honey and quatre épices, and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the ginger and set aside.
- For the chocolate mousse: whip the very cold whipping cream to soft peaks. Melt the dark chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave, pour over the whipped cream and fold gently until smooth and homogeneous. Scoop into a piping bag (1cm plain nozzle).
- Unmould the meringue half-spheres carefully (they are fragile). Place half of them back into the mould, fill with chocolate mousse to form a nest, fill the centre with cherry compote and sprinkle with white chocolate shavings, then cover with an empty meringue half-sphere.
- To finish, brush a line of cherry compote sauce across the plate, pipe a small knob of chocolate mousse in the centre, dust with cocoa powder, and set the sphere on top (the mousse acts as glue). Serve immediately.