Recipe: Espresso and dark chocolate vacherin

Ingredients

12 egg whites, room temperature
540g castor sugar
5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
7,5ml (1½ tsp) white wine vinegar
400g good quality dark chocolate
50ml vanilla liqueur or any other liqueur
125ml (½ cup) espresso
500ml (2 cups) whipping cream
Cacao powder, for dusting
Fresh berries, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 130°C.

2. Place the egg whites in a mixer and whisk until the eggs form soft peaks. Add the sugar, 15ml (1 tbsp) at a time, until two-thirds of the sugar has been added. Whisk until shiny, 5 – 6 minutes.

3. Add the vanilla extract and vinegar, and whisk, 1 – 2 minutes. Fold the remaining sugar into the meringue mixture with a metal spoon, and divide the mixture in 2 on 2 sheets of baking paper.

4. Pipe or lightly spread the meringue mixture to make 2 x 24cm discs. Bake in the oven until they turn a light tea colour and are hard to the touch, 1½ – 2 hours.

5. Remove from the oven and allow the discs to cool on a wire rack.

6. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and remove from the heat. Add the liqueur and espresso, and stir to emulsify. If the chocolate is warm to the touch, allow it to cool a little before adding the cream. Whip the cream until stiff, and add one third to the melted chocolate. Whisk through thoroughly.

7. Fold in the remaining cream and sandwich the 2 meringue discs with the chocolate mixture.

8. Allow to set for 2 – 3 hours before serving. Dust with cacao powder, and serve with fresh berries.

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