Chocolate hazel nut meringues

These meringues are very similar to my strawberries and cream meringues . These however are full of chocolately naughtiness. The meringues themselves have little flecks of chocolate in them and are are sandwhiched together with a thick dark chocolate ganache. The cream is flavored with toffee nut syrup from monin and there are crushed hazel nuts hidden in there as well. 

You will need
For the meringue
1 packet of egg whites
4oz of sugar
8 tablespoons of water
1oz of finely grated chocolate

For the ganache
8oz of dark chocolate
50ml double cream.
1oz of crushed hazel nuts

For the cream
150ml double cream
3 table spoons of Monin Toffee Nut syrup

Also
baking parchment
piping bag
large star nozzle
electric hand whisk

Method. 
Firstly make sure your bowl and beaters are spotlessly clean, wash in hot soapy water and dry and then with some lemon juice on kitchen paper wipe both the bowl and the beater to remove any grease (grease is not your friend)

1. Add the sachet of poweder egg whites to the bowl and 2 table spoons of water
2. Start the mixer and keep adding table spoons of water
3. When the mix looks really frothy and bubbly start adding your sugar a little at a time
4. Once all the sugar is added the mixture should look and feel very thick and glossy. then you finely grated dark chocolare carefully folding it in to the mix with a spoon. 
5. Carefully put the mix in a piping bag with a large star shaped nozzle attached and pipe the mix onto a tray lined with the baking parchment.  You can draw circles on the reverse of the paper first so all your meringues are equal sized, but as I was just holding the piping bag down and pulling up I eyeballed it
6. Pop in a pre-heated oven at 150 degrees. 
7. Keep checking the meringue and when a hard shell has formed turn the heat down to around 60 degrees and allow to cook for around 20mins.
8. After 20mins turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool in the oven. 
9. In a mixing bowl suspended over but not touching  a pan of boiling water melt your dark chocolate and cream to make the ganache, take off the heat and allow to cool slightly
10. Once the meringues have cooled, whip up some double cream with 3 table spoons of toffee nut syrup until it is very thick, when it starts to clump together you've got it. 
11. Spread a little ganache on to each meringue and sprinkle the crushed hazel nuts over half the meringues. On the meringues with out hazel nuts pipe a pipe the whipped cream and then sandwich another meringue on top. And your done!

They are seriously tasty and pretty simple to make. I just love them sitting in a big pile on a vintage cake stand waiting for everyone to dive in and devour them.