Chocolate Meringue Cake
Okay, I underestimated the ‘working blogger’ and I overestimated my capabilities as a human being, it seems I was born lazy.
Mum and I have been scrolling through range cookers from Argos, to replace our clumsy, tepid oven. Ours is a baker’s nightmare - it’s so inaccurate that even oven thermometers are confused by it. Sponge cakes come out with domed tops or they barely rise, and beating butter and sugar until the mixer's on the verge of combustion or a new bag of flour doesn’t always work. Most of the layered cakes on here were lucky escapes (face palm).
Homemade meringue has always made me feel a bit uneasy because it always comes out just a bit too eggy to stomach. But last week I had a thought, what if I add meringue on top of a cake, purposefully over-baking it by baking the meringue for as long as the dense chocolate cake that will be at the bottom? Perhaps the secret to abolishing the raw egg aftertaste was to over-bake it. It seems, my incompetent oven could finally be put to good use.
By the time the cake is such that a skewer inserted won't be all gooey from the mucus of an egg, you’re left with a crunchy and weightless meringue topping. There’s nothing marshmallow-y about this one, but if that’s what you’re after (and I’m not judging) top the cake with meringue 20 minutes in to the cake’s baking time.
Homemade meringue has always made me feel a bit uneasy because it always comes out just a bit too eggy to stomach. But last week I had a thought, what if I add meringue on top of a cake, purposefully over-baking it by baking the meringue for as long as the dense chocolate cake that will be at the bottom? Perhaps the secret to abolishing the raw egg aftertaste was to over-bake it. It seems, my incompetent oven could finally be put to good use.
By the time the cake is such that a skewer inserted won't be all gooey from the mucus of an egg, you’re left with a crunchy and weightless meringue topping. There’s nothing marshmallow-y about this one, but if that’s what you’re after (and I’m not judging) top the cake with meringue 20 minutes in to the cake’s baking time.
Chocolate Meringue Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
200g dark chocolate 300g unsalted butter, softened 300g light brown sugar 4 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp coffee extract 150g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder
Chocolate swirl meringue 4 egg whites 225g golden caster sugar 1 tsp cornflour 30g cocoa powder
Cream filling 300ml cream Pinch of salt Cream of tarter
A few pomegranate seeds
Lasts for three days if covered.
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180 C and line two 6” round cake tins with baking paper.
Start by whisking the egg whites until froth appears, then slowly add in the sugar whilst whisking. Keep whisking until white and glossy, then add the cornflour and mix to combine. Spoon two heaped tablespoons into a small bowl and sift over the cocoa, then whisk vigourously to combine – don’t worry if the mixture deflates. Set both bowls aside and make the cakes.
Melt dark chocolate over a pan of simmering water and set aside to cool. Cream the butter and sugar with a whisk or beater until a light shade of yellow. Whilst beating, slowly pour in the eggs. If the mixture curdles add a tablespoon of the flour, then add the rest of the eggs. Fold in the dry ingredients and equally divide the mixture among the pans. Pour in the melted chocolate and stir through until there are no white streaks. Spoon the white meringue over the tops of each raw cake, using the spoon to roughly level the tops. Spoon small blobs of the chocolate meringue all over then take a cocktail stick and swirl both meringues together.
Bake for 40/50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle is a little damp. The tops will crack in the middle as they bake and then collapse slightly when cooling. Whip the cream with the salt and tartar until soft peaks, and then sandwich the cakes together with the cream and pomegranate seeds.
I was contacted by Argos to talk ovens. I grew up with this brand, and we use them to buy many, many things (thank god for the store card).
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
200g dark chocolate 300g unsalted butter, softened 300g light brown sugar 4 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp coffee extract 150g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder
Chocolate swirl meringue 4 egg whites 225g golden caster sugar 1 tsp cornflour 30g cocoa powder
Cream filling 300ml cream Pinch of salt Cream of tarter
A few pomegranate seeds
Lasts for three days if covered.
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180 C and line two 6” round cake tins with baking paper.
Start by whisking the egg whites until froth appears, then slowly add in the sugar whilst whisking. Keep whisking until white and glossy, then add the cornflour and mix to combine. Spoon two heaped tablespoons into a small bowl and sift over the cocoa, then whisk vigourously to combine – don’t worry if the mixture deflates. Set both bowls aside and make the cakes.
Melt dark chocolate over a pan of simmering water and set aside to cool. Cream the butter and sugar with a whisk or beater until a light shade of yellow. Whilst beating, slowly pour in the eggs. If the mixture curdles add a tablespoon of the flour, then add the rest of the eggs. Fold in the dry ingredients and equally divide the mixture among the pans. Pour in the melted chocolate and stir through until there are no white streaks. Spoon the white meringue over the tops of each raw cake, using the spoon to roughly level the tops. Spoon small blobs of the chocolate meringue all over then take a cocktail stick and swirl both meringues together.
Bake for 40/50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle is a little damp. The tops will crack in the middle as they bake and then collapse slightly when cooling. Whip the cream with the salt and tartar until soft peaks, and then sandwich the cakes together with the cream and pomegranate seeds.
I was contacted by Argos to talk ovens. I grew up with this brand, and we use them to buy many, many things (thank god for the store card).
Love Em
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