serves
8
prep
30 minutes
cook
50 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
8
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
50
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
4 egg whites
1½ cups (330 g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon vinegar
1¼ cups (125 g) toasted ground hazelnuts
125 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
¾ cup (185ml) cream
icing sugar, to dust
Chilling time: at least 1 hour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease and line base and sides of two 20cm sandwich cake pans.
Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until firm peaks form. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until thick and glossy. Add vanilla and vinegar and whisk for 20 seconds.
Gently fold though hazelnuts. Divide mixture evenly into prepared pans, smoothing top with a spatula. Bake for 35 minutes, until pale golden and firm. Cool in pans before turning out.
Meanwhile, make chocolate sauce. Place chocolate and ½ cup water in a small saucepan on low heat and stir until melted. Add remaining sugar and another ¾ cup water and stir frequently until dissolved. Simmer for 10 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and cool.
Whip cream and stir through ¼ cup of chocolate sauce. Spread onto one meringue round and top with other round. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 1 hour until ready to serve. Dust with icing sugar and serve cut into wedges drizzled with remaining chocolate sauce.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
