Hazelnut meringue and chocolate ice cream

Method

1. First, make the meringues. Preheat the oven to 120°C/fan100°C/gas 1/2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff but not dry peaks. Gradually whisk in the sugar, until you have a stiff, glossy meringue. Fold in the hazelnuts and put spoonfuls onto 2 lined baking trays, spaced apart, to make about 18. Bake for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 140°C/fan120°C/gas 1 and bake for a further 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Put the sugar and 100ml water in a small pan over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then increase the heat and boil for 1 minute. Cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, cornflour, egg yolks and cooled sugar syrup, until smooth. Heat the milk in a large pan until it just boils, then gradually stir into the egg mixture. Clean the pan, put over a medium-low heat and pour the mixture back in. Cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring, until the froth goes and it coats the back of the spoon. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Set aside to go cold.
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4. In a bowl, lightly whip the cream, then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions, until smooth and creamy. (Or put in a freezerproof container, cover and freeze for 3 hours, until firm. Transfer to a food processor, whizz until smooth, then return to the container. Repeat twice more, then freeze until semi-firm.)
5. Roughly break up 4 meringues and fold through the ice cream. Freeze until firm, or until needed.
6. Put the ice cream in the fridge for 10 minutes, or until scoopable. Break up the remaining meringues and serve on top of the ice cream.