Taking an Eton Mess as a point of departure, I got a little help from Epicuious.com. to make a chocolate meringue with some spice, leaving out a few flavors that did not appeal to me, and substituting others. I had been gifted with some black cardamom pods, and so I knew that would be a part of the spice mix. I used orange supremes as an accompaniment to the chocolate, and then came the idea to create a poaching liquid - one of my favorite ways to prepare fruit. You will feel a little heat from both the poaching liquid and the chocolate sauce. Most of the components can be made in advance: the meringues, the fruit, and the toasted coconut. Once all the parts are made, it's a matter of building the Hot Mess. Save this dessert for company to go with chili. To really be excessive, use an 8 ounce glass to build the Mess, but trust me, a 4 ounce glass and fewer layers is still a very rich serving. You can also build less of a mess in a nice little chocolate meringue nest ( check photo stream).

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