I like a fancy cake. You know, the pretty decorated swirls and swooshes kind, they have a soft spot in my heart. But when it comes to what a chocoholic like me really craves it is this Chocolate Meringue Cake. It is deeply chocolatey, fudgy, but not too sweet with a thin crackly layer of cocoa dusted meringue that adds so much in terms of both flavor and texture. My favourite part about this cake is that since it is neither too sweet nor too rich I can truly enjoy an entire slice without feeling like it is too much. As you can imagine that makes this Chocolate Meringue Cake a little dangerous too!
It is definitely a cake for dark chocolate lovers, I used Lindt dark chocolate bars for mine, but generally you can use any brand that you like to eat. It also keeps well at room temperature. In fact it seems to improve for the first few days which makes it a fantastic do ahead dessert for when you're hosting a big dinner or lunch. You could serve it with some berries and lightly sweetened whipped cream or creme fraiche.
You could also always just eat it from a box standing over your kitchen island, because if you're like me then there is a part of you that is convinced that if you eat a cake standing up the calories don't count.
Shh people, this is not time for logic. If it was I wouldn't have rushed to the store the moment I saw this recipe on pinterest! This was my first time trying a recipe by the legendary Donna Hays, but it definitely won't be the last.
Donna Hays Chocolate Meringue Cake
Ingredients
- 240 G Dark Chocolate chopped
- 180 G ¾ cup Unsalted Butter, chopped
- 2 Eggs
- 4 Eggs extra, yolks and whites seperated.
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ CUP 50G Flour (sifted)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ⅓ cup 40G Almond Meal (Ground Almonds)
- 1 cup 220G sugar
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 3 tsp cornflour/cornstarch sifted
- ¼ cup 25G Dutch Cocoa (sifted) + additional for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9 inch springform cake tin, line the base with parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan and let it cool a little.
- Whisk the eggs, extra egg yolks, brown sugar and vanilla for 3–4 minutes or until pale and thick. Add the chocolate mixture, flour, baking powder and almond meal and fold gently to combine. Be thorough though!
- Pour the cake mix into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Take the cake out of the oven and increase the temperature to 350.
- Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl on high speed until soft peaks form and then gradually add the sugar whisking till it dissolves.
- Now in goes the vinegar. Mix for another 2–3 minutes. The meringue will be thick and glossy. Fold through the cornflour and cocoa (don't forget to sift both!) and gently spread the meringue onto the cake.
- Bake for another 20–25 minutes or until the meringue is golden and crisp.
- Let the cake cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and then run a knife between the cake and pan to loosen the sides. Remove the springform ring.
- Refrigerate for two hours to meld the flavors together.
- Serve at room temperature lightly dusted with cocoa powder.
KKJ says
Hi, can you make this the day before? Many thanks
Sarah Mir says
Absolutely! just cover it well!
Kathleen says
I tried this recipe and followed it exactly. It had a little bit of a gritty texture.
Sarah Mir says
Hey Kathleen! Sorry to hear that! I assume thats a result of the kind of chocolate, but that's unfortunate nonetheless
Shilpa Dawda says
I don’t know the first time I tried out the recipe I had used a bigger size pan as I did not have the recommended size but although a little smaller in height the meringue was perfect. A little crunchy. But after that I baked two half measurement cakes and the meringue just wouldn’t become crunchy. Now I don’t really remember how it was the first time I baked so thought of asking you.
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Aaah got it - I haven't tried halving it myself, but you're right its nice to have that little crunch!