McSneaky

Hot Chocolate Meringue Cake

Ingredients


U.S. Metric Conversion chart

Parchment paper

6 egg whites

1 tablespoon(s) cream of tartar

1 1/4 cup(s) sugar

3 tablespoon(s) sifted cocoa

1/8 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper

4 cup(s) whipped cream



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Directions



1.To make the cake: Heat oven to 200 degrees F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper and set aside. Draw two 9-inch circles in the center of the paper and set aside.

2.Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Stream in 1 1/4 cups sugar and continue to beat on high speed. Just as the whites reach their peaks, sprinkle in sifted cocoa and cayenne pepper and continue beating to stiff peaks.

3.Spread the meringue within the circles. Bake for 3 hours, turn off oven, and let sit for 1 hour.

4.Cool on the pan on a wire rack. Store in a very dry, cool place.

5.Fill the layers with whipped cream and serve within 2 hours.



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Tips & Techniques



Two large spoons — one to cut and the other to scoop — make serving this cake simple.



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Here are some alternate versions of this recipe created by our wonderful community of chefs!

Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake

Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake from Annabel Karmel's Mom and Me Cookbook


1 stick (8 Tbls) butter

8 oz graham crackers

1 tsp vanilla extract

16 oz cream cheese

1 cup superfine sugar

2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, (I used frozen)

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 2/3 cups whipping cream



1. Put the graham crackers in a bag. Use a rolling pin to roll and crush them into crumbs.

2. Melt the butter in a pan. Pour the crushed graham crackers into the butter and stir thoroughly.

3. Line an 8-inch springform pan with plastic wrap. Spoon in the cracker mixture, press flat and refrigerate.

4. Make raspberry puree- bring the raspberries and powdered sugar to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Cool, then press through a sieve.

5. Mix together the cream cheese, superfine sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip the cream until stiff, then fold it into the cheese mixture.

6. Spread 3/4 of the cheese topping on the graham cracker base. Then spoon on 3/4 of the puree and swirl it into the cheesecake mixture.

7. Gently spread on the remaining cheesecake mixture. Drizzle on straight lines of raspberry puree. Pull a skewer across the lines for a decorative effect.

8. Leave the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours of overnight.

Chocolate Puddle Cookies Recipe

Use non-alkalized cocoa powder (Scharrfen Berger or Dagoba) but also tested with Droste, which is a Dutch-process cocoa powder. All with success. On the nut front, be mindful of how you toast your walnuts - it's the single factor that impacts the personality of these cookies most. Using deeply toasted walnuts makes for a much more intense, nutty cookie. Lightly toasted walnuts can sometimes be mistaken for chocolate chips, and make for a much more mild cookie. Both good! Also, cooking time - you don't want to over or under bake here - over bake, and your cookies will cool too a crisp, under bake, and they are too floppy and crumbly. Also, underbaking makes it more difficult to remove the cookies from the parchment paper after baking - you get the swing of it after a batch or two. Use large eggs, I suspect if you use extra-large, the batter will run, and you'll have to compensate with more powdered sugar.

3 cups / 11 oz / 310 g walnut halves, toasted & cooled


4 cups / 1 lb / 453 g confectioner's (powdered) sugar

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons / 2 oz / 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

4 large egg whites, room temperature

1 tablespoon real, good-quality vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 320F / 160C degrees and position racks in the top and bottom third. Line three (preferably rimmed) baking sheets with parchment paper. Or you can bake in batches with fewer pans.


Make sure your walnuts have cooled a bit, then chop coarsely and set aside. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for PLENTY of room between cookies. These cookies are like reverse Shrinky Dinks - they really expand. Don't try to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the batter too close to the edge of the pan.

Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Have faith, they look sad at first, then really blossom. You may want to rotate the pans top/bottom/back/front.

Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight for a couple days.

Makes 18 large cookies