This beautiful Valentine's Day sharing dessert platter is a real feast for the eyes!
I've made oversized heart-shaped meringues flavoured with lemon, rippled with pink and dotted with chopped pistachio nuts.
Crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside-perfect for this occasion!
This is such a fun, romantic dessert as you could decorate each others' plates or just have fun chatting while you add your own favourite toppings to your meringue heart.
I've chosen to serve my meringue hearts with this wonderful array of finely diced tropical fruits which combine to make a 0sp/0pp exotic fruit salsa…and some sweet treats too just to add a little more decadence!
My daughter bought me this amazing serving dish for Christmas and I've been desperate to use it-but you could serve all these little toppings in mismatched bowls or vintage tea cups and sugar bowls for a gorgeous romantic look!
The toppings shown here add another 4sp/3pp/115kcal per portion to the dessert, but you could tailor-make it to your personal taste/allowance.
The toppings shown here add another 4sp/3pp/115kcal per portion to the dessert, but you could tailor-make it to your personal taste/allowance.
(Calorie counters need to add a further 150kcal per portion for the fruit too)
***
The Lemon Meringue Hearts
YOU WILL NEED:
(Makes 2 generous hearts/4 medium hearts)
(Makes 2 generous hearts/4 medium hearts)
2 egg whites
100g caster sugar
zest of an unwaxed lemon
pink food colouring
10 pistachio nuts, chopped
***
Whisk the egg whites until firm. Add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking well to dissolve the sugar. Finally, stir in the lemon zest. This gives the meringue an incredible flavour.
Divide the mixture in half. Dollop onto baking parchment on a baking tray. Shape into 2 large elongated hearts. You could pipe the mixture but I always prefer to shape it like this with a knife for a more rustic, artisan finish.
Have some pink food colouring, a cocktail stick and the chopped pistachios to hand. I just love this colour combination of the pink and green together.
Dot the hearts with food colouring, then swirl it around randomly using a cocktail stick until you have your finished design.
It's really simple and lovely to do- it creates a kind of marbled effect.
Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios then bake at 160C/325F/Gas 3 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake for a further 30-40 minutes if you want it slightly gooey inside. If you want a crisp meringue, turn the oven off and leave to cool in the oven for an hour or two.
***
The Toppings
YOU WILL NEED : (serves 2)
Please feel free to invent your own toppings!
1/4 fresh pineapple
mixed with 1 passion fruit
1/2 a mango
mixed with some chopped fresh mint
1/2 a papaya
mixed with juice of 1/2 a lime
pomegranate seeds
10g mini marshmallows (2sp/1pp/40kcal)
1/2 a WeightWatchers Belgian Chocolate mousse stirred to make a dipping consistency
(3sp/2pp/80kcal)
1 box mini smarties (4sp/2pp/80kcal)
1/3 Muller Light yoghurt (1sp/1pp/30kcal)
(I used Turkish Delight flavour)
***
To serve, arrange all the elements onto a large platter and decorate with fresh mint. This is a real show stopper!
Pile on those toppings to your heart's desire!
***
PRINT RECIPE HERE
***
Here's a link to my YouTube film to show you the marbling technique!
Click HERE
Have some pink food colouring, a cocktail stick and the chopped pistachios to hand. I just love this colour combination of the pink and green together.
Dot the hearts with food colouring, then swirl it around randomly using a cocktail stick until you have your finished design.
It's really simple and lovely to do- it creates a kind of marbled effect.
Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios then bake at 160C/325F/Gas 3 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake for a further 30-40 minutes if you want it slightly gooey inside. If you want a crisp meringue, turn the oven off and leave to cool in the oven for an hour or two.
***
The Toppings
YOU WILL NEED : (serves 2)
Please feel free to invent your own toppings!
1/4 fresh pineapple
mixed with 1 passion fruit
1/2 a mango
mixed with some chopped fresh mint
1/2 a papaya
mixed with juice of 1/2 a lime
pomegranate seeds
10g mini marshmallows (2sp/1pp/40kcal)
1/2 a WeightWatchers Belgian Chocolate mousse stirred to make a dipping consistency
(3sp/2pp/80kcal)
1 box mini smarties (4sp/2pp/80kcal)
1/3 Muller Light yoghurt (1sp/1pp/30kcal)
(I used Turkish Delight flavour)
***
To serve, arrange all the elements onto a large platter and decorate with fresh mint. This is a real show stopper!
Pile on those toppings to your heart's desire!
***
PRINT RECIPE HERE
***
Here's a link to my YouTube film to show you the marbling technique!
Click HERE
2 comments:
happy valentines day :) very beautifully decorated meringue
Hey,
It is looking so delicious.I am going to try it for sure just to have great dessert.
Topping is so attractive I am not able to stop me..
Thanks for sharing:)
Stella
YoMyGoodness
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