Chocolate swirl meringue cake

This is a glorious, free-form gluten-free construction of giant stacked meringues and chocolate sauce. Serve it with a bowl of whipped cream.

Recipe: Bernadette Hogg Photo: Manja Wachsmuth

Makes: 8 large meringues

Meringues

■ 1 1⁄2 cups caster sugar

■ 5 egg whites

■ Pinch of salt

■ 50g dark chocolate melts or buttons

Chocolate drizzle

■ 1⁄2 cup cream

■ 30g butter, cut into small pieces

■ 2 tbsp liquid glucose

■ 175g dark chocolate melts or buttons

Meringues: Heat oven to 200C. Spread caster sugar in a medium-sized roasting pan and put in oven for about 5 minutes or until it feels hot to touch. When done, reduce oven temperature to 110C. Meanwhile, beat egg whites with salt until frothy. Add the hot sugar in one lot (if using a hand-held mixer, an extra pair of hands to do this is useful). Beat on a medium-to-high speed for about 8 minutes or until the mixture forms a very stiff meringue and is completely cool. Melt chocolate, cool slightly and pour it over the stiff meringue (do not fold it in). Take tennis ball-sized spoonfuls of meringue/ chocolate mixture and place on a lined baking sheet (mixture should make 8 big meringues). The natural movement of the spoon and shaping the meringues is enough to give an uneven swirl effect. Bake 1 hour then take from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Drizzle: Put cream, butter and glucose in a pot and stir over a moderate heat until mixture begins to simmer. Take off heat and add chocolate, stirring until it melts. Assemble cake by stacking meringues decoratively on a serving plate in a rough tower shape. Just before serving, pour over the chocolate drizzle. Meringues will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.