A few wonderful things happened on the weekend; for some it was the Super Bowl, for others (including me) it was all about Beyonce’s new video and song Formation which has been playing on repeat in my house for over one hour haha. In general I’m gonna say it was a weekend of good vibes. Not bad considering cupid celebrations are all over the place and Valentine’s Day is happening next week which I’m not a fan of..sorry!

However, I do have a recipe that you can either use for Valentine’s Day or make it for yourself or your lover just because (no need to get cupid into it!). There’s definitely a little bit of influence from Vday with the blood orange situation, and they’re also in season, so let’s take advantage of that.

This dessert is a deconstructed version of the classic; I swapped the marshmallows for soft meringue, I made some quick dark chocolate ganache to make it a bit more dashing, and I crumbled the graham crackers around it to dress it up a-la modern cuisine. To cut through the richness, I placed a few segments of fresh blood orange which goes really well with the whole thing. It may sound like a lot of prep, but it seriously takes an hour or so to get it all done, or even better, you can do some of the items the night before.

Get the full recipe to make this fluffy yummer after the jump!

Soft Meringue S’mores Crumble with Blood Orange

Makes 4

Ingredients:
– 10-15 graham crackers (choose your favourite kind)
– 1 cup good quality dark chocolate broken in chunks
– 2 tablespoons coconut milk (from a can)
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1/2 teaspoon more for the meringues
– 5 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
– Pinch of salt
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 2 blood oranges, peeled, and cut in segments

Instructions:
1. Place the crackers in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until crumbly. Leave big chunks in it, don’t make it into flour. Set crumbles aside.
2. Place the chocolate, coconut milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla on a bowl over a double boiler (double boiler: a pot with barely simmering water with the bowl on top). Turn off as soon as chocolate starts to melt (shouldn’t be too hot to the touch). Then, while whisking, incorporate the 5 egg yolks from your separated eggs. Return to the heat (in low low heat) for a couple minutes and keep whisking until mix thickens and looks shiny (about 1 more minutes). Remove from heat and cool down.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt to soft peaks, then slowly add the sugar (while mixing). Once you finish all the sugar beat the eggs for another 2-3 minutes until they’re glossy and they form hard peaks. Add remaining vanilla and beat for another 20 seconds.

To assemble: Scoop one big blob of meringue on a plate and make a little nest in the middle. Torch the meringue with a hand torch. Pour some of the chocolate ganache, then sprinkle the graham crumbs around the meringue. Finish with a few segments of blood orange and dig in!

NOTE: if you do not have a torch, then use an oven-proof dish or a baking sheet and place the meringue under the broiler in your oven until it browns (about 2 to 3 minutes). Use a bench scraper to transfer it to a serving dish.

Enjoy!