A Chocolate Raspberry Meringue Cake Recipe

Hold onto your chef's hats, budding foodies -- Australian Gourmet Traveller is releasing it's Chocolate issue on Monday, and its a goodun. 'The Ultimate Brownie' graces the cover (big call, we know), but we couldn't go past this chocolate raspberry meringue cake.

INGREDIENTS

• 120 gm dark chocolate (56%-60% cocoa solids), finely chopped, plus extra shaved to serve
• 250 gm eggwhites (from about 8 eggs)
• 250 gm caster sugar
• 250 gm pure icing sugar
• 50 gm Dutch-process cocoa
• 3 tsp cornflour
• Chocolate sauce
• 65 gm dark chocolate (58% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
• 10 gm unsalted butter
• 75 gm (1/3 cup) caster sugar
• 70 gm liquid glucose
• 2 tsp Dutch-process cocoa powder, sieved
• 100 ml pouring cream
• Crushed raspberry cream
• 400 ml thickened cream
• 400 gm crème fraîche
• 50 gm pure icing sugar, sieved
• Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• 120 gm raspberries, plus extra to serve
• 3 tsp balsamic vinegar

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 120C. Trace a 25cm x 12cm rectangle on each of 3 sheets of baking paper, then place each sheet pencil-side down on a lightly greased baking tray. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside.
2. Whisk eggwhite, caster sugar and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until firm, glossy peaks form (6-7 minutes). Sieve icing sugar, cocoa and cornflour onto mixture and fold to combine. Fold in melted chocolate to create a ripple effect, then divide evenly among prepared trays, spreading within the rectangle templates. Bake, swapping and turning trays occasionally, until crisp and dry (1-1¼ hours). Turn off oven and leave meringue in to cool completely, then store in airtight containers for up to 2 days until required.
3. Meanwhile, for chocolate sauce, melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth (2-3 minutes). Combine remaining ingredients and 100ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stir in chocolate mixture. Bring back to the boil, season with a good pinch of sea salt flakes and refrigerate to chill. Chocolate sauce can be made up to a week ahead.
4. For crushed raspberry cream, whisk cream, crème fraîche, icing sugar and vanilla seeds in
5. a bowl to soft peaks. Crush raspberries with balsamic vinegar in a separate bowl and fold into cream mixture to form a ripple effect.
6. To serve, place a meringue rectangle on a serving platter, spread with a third of the crushed raspberry cream, top with a third of the raspberries, then with another meringue rectangle. Repeat layering, finishing with raspberries, then drizzle with chocolate sauce, scatter with shaved chocolate and serve.

Prep time: 40 mins. cookL 1¼ hrs (plus cooling). Serves 10-12.