As it was the case with my previous meringue recipes (with strawberries andraspberries), this one has also been inspired by a cake I had in a confectionary. I ate it for the first time many years ago but somehow for a very long time I didn’t even try to make it myself and only enjoyed it when I went there occasionally.
The cake I enjoyed so much consisted of meringue with dried figs and dates, and dense, dark chocolate filling. When I finally decided to prepare it, I knew I wouldn’t have a problem with making the meringue but the filing could possibly be problematical. I remembered I used to have a recipe for a butter cream that would match this cake very well but even though I searched every possible place, I couldn’t find it. So at the end I made the below filling instead. It was perfect and exactly like I wanted it to be: dark, intense with a pretty strong taste of alcohol. And because of the alcohol in the filing, this is ratter a grown-ups cake. It is also pretty heavy – even the members of my family with the sweetest tooth couldn’t have a second helping straight away (mind you, they did have a different cake at first ;)). But this is only a good news – you will be able to enjoy it longer!
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- <div class=”nobullets”>Meringue:</div>
- 6 egg whites,
- 300g caster sugar,
- 2 tbsp Demerara sugar,
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar,
- 1 tsp cocoa powder,
- a pinch of salt,
- 5 dates, thinly chopped,
- 5 dried figs, thinly chopped.
- <div class=”nobullets”>Filling:</div>
- 250ml double cream,
- 200g chopped dark chocolate,
- 2 tbsp icing sugar,
- 75ml coffee liqueur,
- 5 dates, thinly chopped,
- 5 dried figs, thinly chopped.
- Extra cocoa powder for dusting.
- Take two pieces of baking paper and draw 23cm-diameter circle on each one; then put them on two baking trays.
- Pre-heat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees.
- Put the egg whites to a big, clean and dry bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat them with an electric mixer.
- When they are stiff, start adding sugar (while you still beat the egg whites): add one tablespoon at a time and carry on beating for 20-30 seconds before you add another tablespoon of sugar. At first add the caster sugar and then the Demerara.
- When you have used all the sugar, keep on whisking for another 2-3 minutes, then add the vinegar and beat for another minute.
- Sieve in the cocoa powder, add the chopped dates and figs and gently stir.
- Divide the beaten egg whites into 2 portions and carefully spread them on the drawn circles, put both baking trays to the hot oven.
- After 5 minutes decrease the temperature to 140 Celsius degrees and bake for 90 minutes; afterwards turn off the oven, open its doors slightly and keep it open for 5 minutes. Close the door and keep the meringues in the oven for a few hours or overnight.
- In a small pot heat up the cream (but don’t boil it).
- Once hot, move away from the heat, add the chocolate and stir from time to time.
- When the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream, cool the mixture down and put to the fridge for approximately 1 hour so it thickens (but don’t allow it to thicken completely).
- Add the sugar and liquor to the cream and chocolate mixture and beat with the electric mixer until it increases in volume and becomes paler; stir in the dates and figs.
- Put one meringue disc (the worse looking one) on a serving plate, spread the chocolate filing and place the second meringue on top; decorate with sifted cocoa powder.
- Keep refrigerated till needed.
