If you love meringue you’re going to love this meringue with hazelnuts and cacao nibs. It’s a crunchy variation to the classic pavlova but the nuts make it super delicious and tasty!

Meringue with hazelnuts and chocolate | insimoneskitchen.com

Hazelnut meringue with chocolate

I really love a good meringue. It’s my guilty pleasure and you can definitely make me happy any time with a pavlova. Usually I end up making a pavlova with fresh berries and loads of whipped cream but I wanted to try something different this time so I went for a meringue with hazelnuts and chocolate.

It get a little less airy due to the nuts but the flavor is so delicious and it gets to be a chewy hazelnut meringue.

How to make the meringue with hazelnuts

First of all you need to whip your egg whites to soft peaks. Make sure you place the egg whites into a very clean bowl and whisk to get this done or the egg whites will not stiffen properly. I tend to do this in the bowl of a food processor with a whisk attachment but you can definitely use a hand mixer if you prefer. While you’re whisking your egg whites preheat the oven to the right oven temperature. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and you’re ready to go.

Once the egg whites have gotten to soft peaks it’s time to add the lemon, pinch of salt and the sugar and you whisk it till you get stiff peaks. In terms of the sugar you’re using it’s best to use icing sugar or another superfine sugar and not granulated sugar as that dissolves better into the egg whites. 

At this point you want to add the chopped hazelnuts. I use toasted hazelnuts and make sure they are cooled down. Chop them so they are not too big. It’s fine to have a few chunks here and there but don’t use ground hazelnuts. That’s just too fine for this recipe. Don’t use brown sugar or the end result will get an unappealing color.

Fold the hazelnuts through the meringue gently, using a rubber spatula, making sure you keep all the air inside. I also added some cacao nibs to the batter but that is optional. Additionally you could add some almond extracts or vanilla extract if you like. 

Meringue with hazelnuts

Baking

Once you’re meringue is perfect you place it on the baking tray with the baking paper you set aside. Make sure you place it in a circle or be creative and make a shape of your own. That’s ok too. Preferably you use a large baking sheet for the whipped meringue so you have enough space to place your batter one. Don’t spread the meringue too thin. Roughly 10 cm thick is nice.

Now it’s time to let the oven do it’s thing. You bake it at a fairly low temperature but you bake it for a longer time. You heat the oven to 302 ËšF to start with and once you place the meringue inside you turn it down to 248 immediately. How long it needs in total is always a tricky question.

Check how it is doing after about 45 minutes and make sure it is not getting too brown. If it is turn the oven down even further, but do not open the oven door at this point or the pavlova will collapse.

I’ve had many cases where I thought I could just ignore the rules, only to be left with a flattened meringue. It will still taste good, so don’t throw it away but just decorate with lots of whipped cream and no one will notice. 

Once the top of the meringue feels firm leave it to cool down in the oven (oven is turned off at this point) and once completely cooled gently lift it of the parchment paper. You can already place it on a serving plate so you don’t have to move it again and risk breaking it. If it is not yet fully cooled down, leave it on a wire rack (with the paper underneath) to cool down completely before moving on to the next step.

Hazelnut meringue

Decorating

I decorated the meringue with hazelnuts obviously with double cream and some extra roasted hazelnuts and ended with a drizzle of chocolate ganache over the top. You can also add chocolate chips or chocolate shavings or a dusting of cocoa powder. Instead of the ganache it also works fine if you just use melted chocolate instead or go for easy with a ready made chocolate sauce. it’s a delicious dessert and you can read the full recipe in the recipe card below.

If you’re a fan of a good pavlova? Check out the below recipes too:

Meringue with hazelnuts and chocolate | insimoneskitchen.com

Meringue with hazelnuts and chocolate

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GangCake and cookies
KeukenFrench

Super delicious and chewy is this meringue with hazelnuts and chocolate
Prep time 30 minutes
Cooking time 2 hours
Total time 2 hours 30 minutes

8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • 7,5 gr corn flour
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 75 gr icing sugar
  • 50 g hazelnuts roasted and chopped (keep a few for decorating)
  • 30 g cacaonibs optional

Ganache

  • 100 ml whipping cream
  • 100 gr chocolate we used 85% cacao content
  • 200 ml whipping cream
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar

  • Preheat the oven to 150ËšC (302ËšF)
  • Prepare the meringue by whisking the eggwhites. If they become a little stiff add the cornflour, the lemon, salt and sugar and whisk until stiff peaks.
  • Fold the chopped hazelnuts and the cacaonibs through it.
  • Make a shape on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Round is easiest. Make sure it is not too thin and create some uneven peaks on the surface. Whatever you like.
  • Put in the oven and turn the temperature down to 120ËšC (248ËšF) immediately
  • How long it needs cooking is a little bit depending on the thickness of your layer but check after 45 minutes if it is not becoming brown. The outside should feel firm. Leave to cool and remove carefully from the baking tray
  • Make the ganache by heating the cream in a saucepan. Don’t let it boil but close to the boil
  • Break the chocolate into pieces and stir the hot cream through it. Stir until smooth. Put the ganache in a piping bag with a small nozzle and decorate the meringue with it.

Nutrition Information per portion

Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 556IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

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Simone van den Berg

Food- and travel blogger from the Netherlands. Loves good food. Loves to taste good food the world over. She also loves to share travelstories, delicious recipes and ok, cat pictures too. She sometimes feels the need to get really healthy for a while, always mingled with periods of insanely delicious sweets and other decadent treats. Lives in the Netherlands with her two cats; Humphrey and Buffy. Profession: Food photographer, food blogger, recipe developer and nutritionist