Valentine’s Dipped Meringue Swirls

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Line a small baking tray with baking parchment, pour in the caster sugar and heat it in the oven for 7 minutes – heating the sugar helps to create a glossy, stable meringue mixture.
2. Pour the egg whites into a mixer and whisk them slowly, allowing small stabilising bubbles to form, then increase the speed until they form stiff peaks.
3. Take the sugar out of the oven, and turn the temperature down to 100°C/Gas ¼ – leaving the oven door open will help speed this up.
4. With the mixer on full speed, very slowly spoon the hot sugar into the beaten egg whites, making sure the mixture comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition of sugar. Once you have added all the sugar, continue to whisk at full speed until you have a smooth, stiff and glossy mixture. You should continue to whisk for at least 5 minutes once the sugar has incorporated. To check whether the mixture is ready, rub a little between your fingers: if you can still feel the grittiness of the sugar, keep whisking at full speed until it has completely dissolved and the mixture is smooth, stiff and glossy.
5. Add a small drop of pink food colouring and whisk to create a soft pink colour. Fit a piping bag with the Wilton® 2D Flower Nozzle and spoon in the meringue mix.
6. Pipe round swirls of meringue onto the lined tray and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the bases come off the parchment cleanly. Allow to cool completely.
7. To finish, dip the bottom of each meringue into melted milk chocolate and allow to cool.