CHOCOLATE MERINGUE CAKE

Preparation 55 minutes, plus chilling Cooking 30 minutes Serves 6-8 Almond paste is softer than marzipan and has a higher ratio of almonds to sugar (you can buy it at souschef.co.uk). Crêpes dentelle are available from Ocado and Amazon.

FOR THE BISCUIT LAYER flavourless oil, for greasing 200g almond paste 50g soft butter 2 medium eggs 40g flour, sifted ¾ tsp baking powder FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER 120g praline chocolate bar 70g crêpes dentelle biscuits, finely crushed FOR THE ALMOND LAYER 2 gelatine sheets 300ml whole milk 4 medium egg yolks 60g caster sugar 30g cornflour 160g almond paste 140g soft butter, diced 4 tbsp marmalade FOR THE MERINGUE 2 large egg whites

100g icing sugar a few drops of lemon juice

1 Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4. Grease and line a loose-bottomed 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment. 2 Put the almond paste in the bowl of a mixer and use the flat beater briefly to soften it, if necessary. Beat in the butter to combine. Add the eggs one by one. 3 Add the flour and baking powder and beat until it forms a soft dough. Press into the prepared tin, level and bake for 20 minutes. Cool on a rack in the tin. 4 When the biscuit layer is cold, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir in the crêpes dentelle. Pour this mixture into the tin and level. Chill until set. 5 Soak the sheets of gelatine in cold water for five minutes. Bring the milk to just under the boil and set aside. Combine the yolks and sugar in a large bowl, then blend in the cornflour. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring continuously, then return to the rinsed-out pan and cook over a medium-low heat for a couple of minutes until thickened. 6 Squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine and stir into the custard, off the heat. 7 Transfer the custard to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in the almond paste, then, with the beater running, add the butter piece by piece until smooth (the mix should be at room temperature when you do this). Beat in the marmalade. Cover the surface with clingfilm and set aside. 8 Put the egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk with an electric hand beater until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is lukewarm to the touch. Take off the heat and either transfer to a free-standing food mixer or continue with the hand beaters and continue to whisk for 10 minutes until the meringue is smooth and shiny. 9 To assemble, spread the almond cream on top of the chocolate layer, then add a layer of meringue. Chill for at least one hour until set. To serve, remove from the tin and carefully cut into 6-8 slices with a very sharp knife.