Chocolate Meringue Cake

          I am not a big cake craving person. There are some cakes that taste delicious, but if set next to a pastry I will choose the pastry every time. That’s just me. With that said, this is one of those cakes I will absolutely go to every time it is made. It hits all the spots for me. It has a dense yet fluffy texture, a rich chocolate taste, and a sweet crisp top. It goes perfect with a nice ice cream scoop on the side or by itself completely alone. I made one once for valentine’s day and then had to make another for my birthday a few weeks later because I was craving it so much.

This is a gluten free and flour free cake. It gets all the lift from the eggs, so it is very important to follow the steps completely to get all the lift possible. Now I am not a coffee drinker, but this is a key ingredient that helps to enhance the chocolate flavor. But no fear there are options to choose. You can use the espresso powder, or leftover coffee of choice, but I use a barley tea instead. I highly recommend trying it. My oldest son was introduced to this tea while living in Japan. He cold brews it in the fridge. And honestly it tastes just like coffee to me without the high amount of caffeine that makes my heart race.

So, if you are like me and avoid the caffeine use the barley option. There are several options you can find online. Now when you get all the ingredients mixed the last thing you want is to have it fail because you missed the one step of not oiling your baking pan. That vital step will react with the egg whites and cause them to rapidly lose the ability rise and retain that lift. This will result in a dense flat cake. Use parchment instead.

This will cause the cake to pull in slightly, but it will easily release from the pan. You can use a spring form and just cut around the outside if you are ok with the edge possibly losing that clean look. I don’t stress over it. Use a timer! This will help you remember to par bake the bottom then add the topping before finishing to bake. If you bake it all at once the top might get too hard by the time the bottom is finished. You can change the taste by adding some chopped nuts to the mix or leaving as it is. Enjoy!