Cherry and Chocolate Meringue Gâteau

Name: Cherry and Chocolate Meringue Gâteau
Ingredients: 8 oz/225 g icing sugar, sieved; 4 large egg whites; A 15-oz/420-g can stoned black cherries, well drained, or 8 oz/225 g fresh cherries, stoned; 2 tbsp Kirsch (optional); ½ pint/285 ml double cream; 1 oz/28 g cocoa powder; ¼ pint/140 ml extra double cream (optional); 1 tbsp icing sugar, sieved; 2 oz/56 g dark chocolate, grated; A 15-oz/420-g can stoned black cherries, well drained, or 8 oz/225 g fresh cherries, stoned

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Claire Macdonald Cookbook

By Claire Macdonald

Published 1997

About

This is one of those meringue puddings that freezes very successfully, complete, filled with the whipped cream and cherries. It is a particularly stable form of meringue, but don’t be tempted to whisk the cocoa in with the whites and icing sugar; it won’t work, and has to be folded in once the meringue has really thickened, over heat.

Ingredients

4 large egg whites
8 oz/225 g icing sugar, sieved

Cake
Vegetarian
Gluten-free

Method

To make the meringue, put the egg whites and the icing sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, and whisk for several minutes until the meringue is very thick. Take the bowl off the heat and fold in the sieved cocoa powder.

Line two baking trays with non-stick baking parchment and mark a circle about 9 inches/23 cm in diameter on each – I use a plate to draw