Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup orange juice without pulp
- 2 cloves
- 4 ripe pears – Bosc or Anjou varieties (peeled, halved and cored)
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided
- 4 large, room temperature egg whites
- Dash of cream of tartar
- Dash of salt
- 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. shaved chocolate, from a good-quality dark chocolate bar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large baking pan, combine water, orange juice, 1 Tbsp. sugar and cloves. Add pears. Poach pears in the oven until soft. Remove pears from liquid and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until the eggs are frothy (about 1 minute). With the mixer at high speed, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Beat for roughly 6 minutes or until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Drop the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet in eight 3- to 4-inch-diameter rounds, smoothing the edges. Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, but leave the meringues in the oven for about 12 hours. Do not open the oven door.
- When ready to serve, gently peel the meringues off the parchment paper.
- Place each pear half in a bowl and top with one meringue. To garnish, shave chocolate from the side of the chocolate bar using a vegetable peeler. Note, it may help if the chocolate bar is cold, so refrigerate for several minutes prior. Garnish each meringue with 1 teaspoon shaved chocolate.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 117
Fat: 2 grams
Saturated Fat: 1 grams
Fiber: 3 grams
Sodium: 65 miligrams
Protein: 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 24 grams