Mother’s Day choc-hazelnut meringue cake

Hey Mama, it’s ma cake that make ya move Mama! Get on the floor and shake…YOUR CAKE MAMA!
Well I know she wanted to dance after eating this, and not because of the sweet kilojoule-fuelled mascarpone cream filling she had to sweat off, oh no, we’re all for mascarpone and double cream filling. I’m all for fillings.
No, we moved our ‘booties mama’ because it was sooo flippingggg  gooooooddddddddd.Mum gives me the whole  ‘everyday is mother’s day’ crap each year. That’s a pile of that too.
If it were so, then why do I catch her stalking me around the house? Or in anticipation when I went to grab a CD from my car yesterday – half-expecting me to come back with her vacation to Fiji in a sealed envelope?
Jokes aside, she’s a simpleton, my mother, a real ‘love is all I need’ kind of woman.
Saves me a lot of energy, that gift. And money. *too far?*This year,  love came in the shape of 20cm spring form tin, filled with the sticky sweetness of two perfect hazelnut meringue layers squished together with mascarpone, cream and melted dark chocolate.
I love you mum. This cake loves you mum. We love you mum. Oh, my bro loves you too, mum.I’ve decided to be a little more ranty in these posts. Yes, ranty. I don’t do that anymore, I don’t write because I want to write anymore. I suppose I don’t write much to remain intriguing, to remain discrete, but where on earth did I read a literary genius come up with that brilliant idea? So now I shall write food, and food will write me, as it’s changing my life more than it knows.
Choc-hazelnut meringue cake (found in Olive Magazine 2005)

Ingredients:
150g toasted hazelnuts, skins removed5 egg whites
275g caster sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
100g dark chocolate
140ml double cream
250g mascarpone
icing sugar, to dust

Method:
Preheat the the oven to 190C fan-forced /170C Gas 5. Line two 18-20cm round springform tins with baking paper or foil, and oil the foil (HA!)
Grind the nuts in a food processor till fine.
Whisk the egg whites till foamy and stiff. Gradually add most of the sugar, a spoonful at a time, until a glossy and stiff meringue forms.  Toss the remaining sugar with the nuts before folding carefully into the meringue with the vinegar. About five folds should do the trick! Divide between the two tin and level the tops.
Bake for 35-40 mins till golden. Allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven with the oven door  ajar. When cooled, peel away the paper and place one layer on a plate top down.
Melt the chocolate and leave to cool slightly. I melted mine in the microwave for two minutes, stirring after one minute. Meanwhile, whisk together mascarpone and cream till spoonable, and fold in the melted chocolate so it’s nice and streaky. I may have cooled the chocolate too much and it went real nice and hard *angry FACE*
Spread a layer on the base before placing the second meringue layer on top.
Pick of some slightly welting rose petals from the bouquet your father gave to your mother and decorate 😉