serves
10-12
prep
45 minutes
cook
2 hours
difficulty
Mid
serves
10-12
people
preparation
45
minutes
cooking
2
hours
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- ⅓ cup Dutch cocoa
- 10 egg whites, at room temperature
- a pinch salt
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 2½ cups caster sugar
- 1 cup hazelnut meal
- 1 qty
- extra, Dutch cocoa for dusting
Chilling time 2 hours
Instructions
Preheat oven to 100°C (200°F). Sift the corn flour and cocoa together and set aside.
Place the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar, a little at a time, until stiff peaks form and sugar has dissolved.
Using a spatula, gently fold the sifted corn flour and cocoa through the egg whites until just combined.
Fill a large piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm plain nozzle and pipe 12 x 30 cm lengths onto a lined baking tray.
Return any of the meringue from the piping bag to the remaining chocolate meringue mixture in the bowl, set aside the piping bag (there’s no need to wash it). Gently fold through the hazelnut meal and place back into the piping bag.
Draw 4 x 19 cm discs on lined oven trays. Starting in the center pipe outwards in a spiral, repeat 3 times to create 4 discs. Bake the discs and lengths for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool in the oven.
To assemble the cake, attach the bottom layer of the cake to a platter with some . Place 1 cup of the mousse on the disc and smooth out with a palette knife. Repeat with the remaining mousse and meringue until you have 4 layers. Coat the entire cake with the remaining mousse.
Break up the meringue lengths, none shorter than the height of the cake. Sprinkle with extra cocoa and arrange around the side of the cake.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set the mousse.
Photography by Petrina Tinslay, styling by David Morgan and art direction by Anne Marie Cummins.
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.
