Chocolate-Meringue Cake & Mexican Coffee

The cake recipe is one of Martha's again and the coffee is a conglomeration of Google search results for Mexican Coffee. Most recipes included chocolate syrup, but I played around a bit and made it without. Marco said he thought it was nice. I thought so, too.

Chocolate Meringue Cake

Makes one 23 cm cake

Must Have:

160g butter at room temperature, plus more for pan

1 cup roasted hazelnuts

All-purpose flour for pan

3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar

6 large whole eggs, separated

4 large egg whites

340g bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

100g milk chocolate, roughly chopped

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp rum

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup caster sugar

Must Do:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Butter springform pan. Line bottom with parchment. Butter and flour parchment and sides of pan. Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar until pale and smooth. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, and rum; beat until combined. Set aside.

Combine 6 egg whites and salt and whisk on high speed until soft peaks form. Stir one-third of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining beaten egg whites just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the meringue: Combine nuts, chopped chocolate, and cornstarch in a small bowl, and set aside. Place remaining 4 egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixer bowl; whisk on high speed until frothy. With mixer running, slowly add superfine sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in hazelnut mixture.

Remove cake from oven, spread meringue mix on top, and return to oven. Bake until meringue is lightly browned and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let stand 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of the cake to loosen, and release sides of pan. Let cool, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving. Serve with whipped cream if you would like to highten the indulgement.

 

 

Super-yummy and rich!!!!!

Mexican Coffee

Serves 2

Must Have:

475 ml water

30g soft dark brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1tsp cocoa powder

1 whole clove

40ml ground coffee

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

whipped cream (optional)

ground cinnamon (optional)

Must Do:

Bring water, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa and clove to the boil in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then remove from heat. Stir in the coffee, cover and steep for about 5 minutes

Stir in vanilla and strain into two cups through a fine sieve or several layers of muslin.

Serve with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon if you like.