Food Lust People Love: July 2025

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Nocciolata Swirl Meringues

These Nocciolata swirl meringues are made with a better quality chocolate hazelnut spread that doesn’t have palm oil or dairy. They are crunchy outside, a little chewy inside and just the right amount of sweet.

According to Google, "Nocciolata is made with organic ingredients, including sunflower oil and cocoa butter, and is free of palm oil, artificial flavors, and preservatives, making it a more natural option. Nutella, on the other hand, includes palm oil, modified palm oil, and other ingredients like soy lecithin and vanillin."

A couple of years ago, I was looking for a vegan friendly chocolate hazelnut spread to use in a recipe – I can’t remember what I wanted to make – and came across Nocciolata online. Unfortunately, none of the shops near me carried it and shipping was cost prohibitive so I was forced to abandon the project.

Fast forward to last summer when we were traveling in France and there it was! Of course, I had to buy a couple of jars. It’s lovely stuff, darker chocolate than Nutella and not overly sweet. I wish I could remember why I wanted it!

It was perfect swirled through these baked meringues.

Nocciolata Swirl Meringues

If you can’t find Nocciolata, substitute your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread to make these. I used golden caster sugar but normal granulated sugar will work fine.

Ingredients

1/4 cup or 75g Nocciolata

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Pinch cream of tartar

Pinch fine sea salt

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon or 112g sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 300°F or 149°C and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with baking parchment. Tip: Put a little dab of oil in the middle and under each corner to help hold it in place.

Measure the Nocciolata into a ramekin and then put the ramekin in a bowl with hot water, to loosen it slightly.

Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until they are completely foamy.

Add the cream of tartar and the salt and continue whipping at medium-high speed until, when you lift the whisk attachment, soft peaks form. This should take a few minutes.

Once you have reached the soft peak stage, increase the speed to high and begin adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time (this should take a few minutes).

Once all the sugar is in, the meringue should be very thick and when you left the whisk firm peaks should remain and it will be glossy.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and drop in all the Nocciolata.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold it into the meringue three or four times. You’re aiming for a swirled effect so try not to over mix.

Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of meringue then use another tablespoon to scrape off and drop the meringue onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until you’ve used all of the mixture and made about 14 meringues.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, immediately lower the heat to 200°F or 94°C. Bake for 1 hour, turning the baking sheet around halfway through.

After 1 hour, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for a few hours as the oven cools. Remove from the oven and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 14th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter N. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the N recipes below: