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A crowd-pleasing meringue cake topped with seasonal berries is a delightful finish to the meal.
- SERVES12-14
- PREP60 mins
- COOK40 mins (plus extra cooling time)
INGREDIENTS
For the Meringue
- Vegetable oil for greasing
- 150g hazelnuts, toasted
- 385g caster sugar
- 7 large free-range egg whites
- ½ tsp white wine vinegar
For the PX Sherry Chocolate Cream
- 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
- 60ml pedro ximénez sherry or a splash of almond extract
- 100g soft light brown sugar
- 800ml double cream
To Decorate
- Chocolate cream
- Fresh raspberries
- Icing sugar
METHOD
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For the meringue, heat the oven to 160°C. Draw an 18cm circle on 4 sheets of baking paper, then pop on 4 lightly oiled baking sheets. (Turn the baking paper over so the pencil or pen marking is face down)
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Grind the nuts in a food processor with 1 tbsp of the caster sugar until finely ground with some texture – don’t over grind or it will become oily. (If you prefer, you can use a pestle and mortar or finely chop the nuts with a knife, then mix them with the sugar.)
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Put the egg whites in a spotlessly clean mixing bowl and whisk with an electric hand mixer to stiff peaks (they shouldn’t droop when the beaters are removed). Add the remaining caster sugar to the whites a tablespoon at a time, whisking back to stiff peaks each time. Once you’ve added half the sugar, start adding in larger quantities, whisking back to stiff peaks each time. Once all the sugar has been added, whisk in the vinegar to form stiff peaks, then fold through the hazelnuts with a metal spoon or balloon whisk.
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Spoon or pipe the meringues in circles onto the baking paper to give 3 flat circles and the fourth circle swirled a bit thicker (this will form the top layer). Bake for 40 minutes until the edges are crisp and set and the insides are still gooey.
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Take out to cool for 20 minutes on the trays, then transfer carefully to wire racks or boards to finish cooling.
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For the PX sherry chocolate cream, put the chocolate, sherry (or almond extract) and brown sugar in a large, heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) a pan of barely simmering water. Melt, stirring very occasionally, until smooth, then remove from the heat, stir in 150ml of the cream and leave to cool to just above room temperature. Whip the rest of the cream to soft peaks, then gently fold through the chocolate mixture with a balloon whisk, being careful not to overmix it or it will become grainy.
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Put one meringue on a serving platter and spoon (or pipe) a quarter of the cream on top. Repeat with the following meringues, finishing with the thicker meringue. Top with cream and pile on the raspberries. You can assemble it up to 3 hours before. Top with icing sugar just before serving.
Make it your own – whipped vanilla cream with some crushed raspberries between layers works just as well.
