Recipe of the month: Cappuccino Kisses

These mini-desserts are a tasty little pick-me-up, or an elaborate garnish for a celebration cake. Featured in the Spring section of Truro Farmers Market – The Cookbook, they’re perfect for the time of year when we’re leaving behind the hearty puds of winter, but summer fruits are still a way off. There also make a great grown-up Easter treat too!

Makes 20 – 30

You’ll need a piping bag for this recipe.

We used Landmark Speciality Coffee and raw chocolate from the market’s sweet-tooth saviour, Food of the Gods (we went for the 96% Cacao Dark Chocolate for this recipe). You could replace raw with regular chocolate, but make sure you use good quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa percentage.

Ingredients

75g icing sugar

75g white caster sugar

2 tsp strong coffee

3 medium egg whites, at room temperature

125g raw dark chocolate

30g whole hazelnuts

Method

1.Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. In a small bowl, mix both sugars together. Make up a small amount of strong coffee using a cafetiere or whatever comes to hand.

2. In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer. Add about a third of the sugar, whipping for 1 min or so. Once that’s combined, gradually add the remaining sugar until you have a glossy meringue that holds stiff peaks.

3. Heat the oven to 120˚C. Turn your pastry bag inside out and, using a pastry brush, paint three lines of coffee from the top to almost the end of the bag. Fill with the meringue mix and twist the end to close.

4. Holding the bag vertically over the tray, apply enough pressure to create a circular base, then quickly draw the bag upwards to create little points. The coffee will give the meringues a stripy pattern as they pass through the bag.

5. Bake in the oven for 1hr or until the meringues sound hollow when you lift one and tap the base – they should have a crunchy shell and not be too chewy. Leave to cool in the oven with the door closed.

6. While the meringues are cooling, blend or chop the hazelnuts until they are the size of peppercorns. Toast in a dry frying pan until fragrant and browning a little. Put in a shallow bowl and set aside.

7. Finally, melt your chosen chocolate in a glass bowl over simmering water. Gently dip the kisses in the chocolate and then the bowl of nuts and put on a clean board, tray or plate to set. They can be stored in a plastic food bag or airtight container until ready to use.