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Roasted fruit meringue with ginger and chocolate
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Roasted fruit meringue with ginger and chocolate
This clever meringue recipe doesn’t use egg whites; instead it is made with aquafaba, the liquid left over from a tin of chickpeas
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time:
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
670Kcal
Fat
47gr
Saturates
27gr
Carbs
57gr
Sugars
56gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
3gr
Salt
0.1gr
Alex Head, owner of Social Pantry
Alex Head is the owner of London events and catering company Social Pantry, as well as Social Pantry Cafe in Battersea.
See more of Alex Head, owner of Social Pantry’s recipes
Alex Head, owner of Social Pantry
Alex Head is the owner of London events and catering company Social Pantry, as well as Social Pantry Cafe in Battersea.
See more of Alex Head, owner of Social Pantry’s recipes
Ingredients
- 150ml aquafaba (see above)
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 175g caster sugar
For the filling and topping
- 2 pears, each cut into 8 wedges, skin-on, core left in
- 4 plums, stoned and cut into wedges
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp clear honey
- 40g blanched hazelnuts
- 50g dark chocolate, chopped
- 450ml double cream
- 3 balls stem ginger, chopped, plus 1 tbsp syrup from the jar
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the meringue the day before. Roast the fruit and nuts a few hours ahead; keep at room temperature. Assemble just before serving, so that it doesn’t soften.
- Heat the oven to 120°C, 100°C, gas ½. Put the aquafaba in a mixing bowl and start to whisk on medium speed for a minute or so until starting to look frothy (use a stand mixer if you have one). Add the lemon juice and beat on high speed, to a medium peak stage.
- Mix the vanilla into the sugar to distribute it evenly. Very gradually, a spoonful at a time, add the sugar, whisking well after each addition. The mixture should be thick and glossy as with traditional meringue, and not feel grainy – if it does, carry on beating for a little longer.
- Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper and draw a 20cm circle on each sheet of paper. Divide the meringue between the 2 circles and spread out within the lines to create 2 evenly sized discs, making a slight dip in the centre of one of them. Bake in the oven for 2½ hours, or until you can peel away the baking paper from the meringue base. Turn off the oven and leave the meringue to cool for at least an hour, then remove from the oven. The meringue can be made the night before; store in a container as it is crisper and more fragile than a regular meringue.
- For the roast fruit, preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Line a large baking tray and lay out the pears and plums across the tray. Sprinkle with the caster sugar and honey and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until soft and slightly caramelised. Toast the nuts in the oven on a separate tray for 6-8 minutes until golden then chop roughly.
- Put the chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of gently simmering water until melted.
- To serve, whip the double cream and ginger syrup together to soft peaks, then stir through the chopped stem ginger. Gently put the flatter meringue disc on a serving plate and cover with half of the ginger cream. Top with the other meringue disc, the remaining cream and the cooled roasted fruit. To finish, drizzle with the melted chocolate and scatter with the hazelnuts.