Chocolate & Berry Meringue Cake

I promised that I wouldn't share another dessert option on the blog for a while, but I really couldn't keep this one in a folder on my computer. I hope you can tell why? It's a really great time for berries at the moment, beautiful fresh strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Combine that with chocolate meringue, heaps of vanilla cream and a strawberry & balsamic glaze and well, you've got a slice of heaven. This crumbly and chewy meringue melts in your mouth; but adds enough crunch to give the dessert a nice texture.

I really hope you like it, one to share!

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 250g of caster sugar
• 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar
• 3 tsp of cocoa powder
• 8 cubes of dark chocolate (keep 2 for the top)
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1 Vanilla pod
• A punnet of strawberries/cherries and raspberries
• 2 pots of whipping cream

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to gas mark 4
2. Grab 2 baking trays and line them with greaseproof paper
3. With an electric mixer, mix your egg whites until frothy peaks
4. Then add the caster sugar a little at a time, until you have glossy, stiff meringue
5. Sieve in cocoa powder, add 1 tsp of the vinegar and chop your 6 cubes of dark chocolate in to fine pieces and add to the bowl.
6. Fold the ingredients gently in to the meringue until combined.
7. Halve the mixture, spooning generously on to the baking trays in about a 25cm circle.
8. Flatten the tops with a spatula.
9. Pop in the lowest part of the oven, immediately lower to gas mark 2.
10. Bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes.
11. Switch meringue shelves half way through or the one above the very bottom shelf will cook quicker.
12. Once the meringue lifts away from the paper, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in there for 20 minutes.
13. Whilst meringue are cooling, make your cream and sauce.
14. For the cream, mix the seeds of one vanilla pod in to 2 tubs of whipping cream and whisk until thick, pop in the fridge until meringues are completely cool.
15. For the sauce, blitz half a punnet of strawberries, the other tsp of balsamic and 1 tsp of vanilla until smooth.
16. Remove meringues from oven and allow to completely cool on a wire rack.
17. Once cooled, layer one meringue disc, top with half the cream mixture and a bunch of mixed berries ( remebering to de-stone cherries for the middle layer), then repeat again for the top.
18. Pour over sauce and top with shaved chocolate.
19. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until ready.