Chocolate Meringue

The last time I was in a restaurant, I ordered a dessert with meringue. I wish I wouldn't...! It was dry like the desert and I almost chocked on the first bite. I remember how I loved my mom's cute meringue drops as a child. Now those were really good! Anyway, yesterday afternoon I baked some chocolate meringue myself, using a recipe by Pierre Hermé. As I had exactly enough egg yolks left, I decided to serve them crumbled over a vanilla mousse. Fluffly and light dessert...at least as long as you do not count the calories!

Ingredients:
For the chocolate meringue:
100 g powder sugar
15 g cocoa powder
4 egg whites
100 g sugarFor the vanilla mousse:
4 egg yolks
50 g sugar
250 ml milk
250 ml cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla pod
3 gelatine sheets

For the meringue preheat oven to 120°C. Sift powder sugar and cocoa powder together. Beat egg whites stiff and add half of the sugar while beating. Fold in the rest of the sugar, after whisk in the powder sugar-cocoa mixture. Pipe meringue on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes with a partly open oven (use a wooden spoon to keep it open). Reduce temperature to 100°C and bake it for 1 more hour. Shut the oven down and let the meringue dry for 2 more hours by a half opened oven. For the mousse warm milk, sugar, vanilla extract, vanilla pod and bring it boil. Whisk it to the egg yolks and let it thicken while whisking over steam. Whisk in gelatine sheets (that you soaked in water before) and let it cool. Stir in beaten cream and leave it in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.