Chocolate Meringue Feast

I was invited for Sunday lunch last week so thought that I better whip up something special for dessert. I considered a sundae or something small but felt creative and went all out instead. I had never combined meringue with sponge cake before but had always thought that it looked pretty good. I whipped up a sticky chocolate fudge sauce to pour over the top and used Chantilly Cream for the filling - yum! 

Ingredients

FOR THE MERRINGUE

6 Egg Whites
150g Caster Sugar

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE

2 Egg Yolks
150g Sugar
50g Plain Chocolate
3  tbsp Water
50g Butter

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE

250g Caster Sugar
250g Butter (softened)
4 Eggs
250g Self Raising Flour
6 tbsp Cocoa Powder

FOR THE CHANTILLY CREAM

250ml Whipping Cream
2 tbsp Icing Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

FOR THE MERRINGUE

1) Preheat your oven to 110C/ 230F/ Gas Mark 1/4 and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
On one of the sheets, draw a circle around an 8 inch round baking tin and leave both to one side.

2) Whisk the egg whites in the electric mixer until when lifted, the beater forms a peak in the mixture. Add the sugar, a few spoons at a time and continue to whisk again until the mixture forms a peak when the beater is lifted.

3) On one tray, using a piping bag and star nozzle, pipe the mixture into small shapes like you would icing on top of a cupcake. On the other tray, pipe the mixture so it fills the 8 inch circle shape you drew earlier.

6) Place both trays in the oven and bake undisturbed for 1 and 3/4 hours.

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FOR THE CHOCOLATE FUGDE SAUCE

1) To make a syrup, dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan and bring to the boil until it has reached 110 degrees on your sugar thermometer.

2) Whisk the syrup and the egg yolks until the mixture is thick and mousse-like and leave to one side while you melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

3) Leave the chocolate to cool slightly for 5 minutes. Then beat the butter and chocolate together and add the syrup mixture and continue to beat.

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FOR THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE

1) Preheat the oven to 180c/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and grease and line an 8 inch round baking tin.

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in your mixing bowl until creamy and pale in colour. Add the eggs and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Then add the flour and cocoa powder, one spoon at a time and beat further until of light and fluffy consistancy again.

3) Pour the mixture into your tin and bake for approx. 40 minutes until firm to touch.