Prepare for eyes to glaze over when this instant coffee meringue gâteau is brought to the table
“You might not think, looking at it, that you could do this or that it’s easy… but I proved the camera crew on the photoshoot wrong. It’s not for the diet conscious, but my desserts never are.
Using bought meringues and marshmallows saves masses of time. I hope you like it as much as the crew did. They’re all on the treadmill now, mind…”
Ingredients
For the gâteau:
• 5 medium egg whites
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons coffee essence
• 500g mascarpone cheese
• 175ml double cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out
• 2 x 250g large sponge flan cases
• 175ml cold espresso
To serve:
• 10 small meringue shells
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 10 small marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar
• 50g dark chocolate, finely grated
Method
1 Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
2 Add the caster and icing sugars and continue to beat for about five minutes, until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Beat in the coffee essence, then set aside.
3 Beat the mascarpone, cream and vanilla seeds together until smooth.
Use a 20cm ring to stamp out the centres of the flan cases, then cut each disc of sponge in half horizontally.
4 Place the ring on to a serving plate, then lay one piece of cake into it, brush over one-quarter of the cold coffee, then spread over one-third of the mascarpone mixture.
5 Repeat with the remaining cake and sponge; you will have four layers of sponge and three layers of cream.
6 Dollop most of the coffee meringue on top, spread it roughly around the sides of the cake, then sear with a kitchen blowtorch until light golden brown.
7 Dust the meringues with the cocoa powder, then stick each on to a marshmallow piece with a little of the coffee meringue.
8 Place on top of the cake in a little cluster. Dust with icing sugar and grated chocolate, then serve.
Recipe courtesy of James Martin, extracted from Home Comforts. Photography by Yuki Sigura. © Quadrille.
