Meringues au Chocolat

A two-line variation that leans entirely on the recipe printed above it: plain meringue shells, baked dry, sandwiched with a sweetened cream set lightly with gelatine. The chocolate version adds cocoa solids and nothing else, so the proportions need reading carefully.

• The missing half of the recipe"Proceed as above" refers to the preceding meringue entry, which is not reproduced here; its method for the shells and the sugar quantities is not on this page. If you are working from this page alone you have the filling only.
• Half a pint of creamAn Imperial half-pint is 10 fl oz, about 1¼ US cups or 285 ml. Use double or heavy cream at 36 per cent fat or above; anything lighter will not hold once the chocolate is folded in.
• Quarter of a pound of chocolate4 oz, roughly 115 g. Block "chocolate" sold for cooking in this period was often sweetened rather than pure liquor, though both were available, so the strength cannot be pinned down. A good dark chocolate at 55-64 per cent is a reasonable match; at 70 per cent and above the filling turns bitter and stiff.
• The sugar is unquantifiedThe recipe says to mix the chocolate with the sugar but names no amount, presumably relying on the entry above. Sweeten the cream to taste, starting around 1 oz (30 g) for this quantity if your chocolate is already sweetened.
• Half an ounce of gelatineThat is about 14 g, some four teaspoons of modern powder or seven standard leaves, and it is far too much for 10 fl oz of cream by current standards. Period gelatine was inconsistent and often weak; today 1 to 2 teaspoons of powder, bloomed in cold water and dissolved in a little warmed cream, will set this filling to a soft cream rather than a rubber.
• Order of workingMelt the chocolate gently and slacken it with a few spoonfuls of warm cream before folding it into the whipped remainder. Adding cold cream to hot chocolate, or hot gelatine to cold cream, gives you seized chocolate or visible threads of set jelly.
• Drying the shellsThe shells are not described on this page. By modern practice meringues of this type are dried rather than browned: a very slow oven, 200-225F (95-107C), for one and a half to three hours depending on size, with the door propped slightly ajar to let moisture escape.
• Assembly and yieldAssembly -- Fill only when both shells and cream are quite cold, and no more than an hour or two before serving, or the shells soften. The recipe gives no yield.