These ‘friendly ghost’ meringues in a death-by-chocolate mousse graveyard with peanut butter tombstones remind us of our favourite friendly ghost – Casper, of course!
“Casper the friendly ghost
the friendliest ghost you know
though grown ups might look in anger and fright
the children all love him so…”
We think these ghoulish sweets are the perfect addition to your Halloween party! Not only are they spooktacular to look at, but they taste great too!
'Friendly ghost’ meringues in a death-by-chocolate mousse graveyard with peanut butter tombstones
Ingredients
Meringue ghosts
- 2 large egg whites
- 110g castor sugar
- drop vanilla extract
Death-by-chocolate mousse
- 300ml water
- 60ml (¼ cup) espresso/strong coffee
- 460g good-quality dark chocolate,
- finely chopped
- 500g ice cubes
- 500ml (2 cups) fresh cream,
- whipped to stiff peaks
- 1 x 175g packet dark chocolate
- biscuits, crushed
Peanut-butter tombstones
- 250g smooth/crunchy peanut butter
- 175g brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 large egg
- 5ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
- 50g dark chocolate, melted, to pipe
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 120°C and line a large baking sheet.
For the meringues, place the 2 egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip to stiff peaks. Gradually start adding the castor sugar, little by little, continuing to whip, until the meringue is very thick and glossy. Whisk in the vanilla then place the mixture in a piping bag. Snip off the end and pipe ghostly blobs onto the baking sheet. Place in the oven to dry (wedge a wooden spoon between the oven and the oven door to keep it ajar) and the meringues are crisp but still soft in the middle, 1 – 2 hours.
For the chocolate mousse, place the water, coffee and 460g dark chocolate in a saucepan and heat gently over medium-low heat, while stirring, until melted.
Once smooth, pour the coffee chocolate into a glass or metal bowl, which fits over another bowl. Fill the bottom bowl with the ice cubes and place the other on top. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture until it starts to thicken and forms soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture and pour the mousse into a serving dish or individual bowls and refrigerate until set.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
For the tombstones, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and bicarbonate of soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Roll teaspoonfuls of mixture into 7cm logs then flatten and place on the lined baking sheet, allowing enough space for spreading. Bake in the oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Pipe ‘RIP’ onto each biscuit using the melted 50g dark chocolate.
To assemble the dish, sprinkle the biscuit crumbs on top of the mousse for the soil, then insert the tombstones and position the meringue ghosts.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
