Well here we go, the recipe for Chocolate and almond meringue; we finished off the last crumbs of it at lunch, and I think it tasted even more scummy than it did last night, but maybe that was because I hadn’t eaten large chunks of lamb and venison beforehand unlike last night. In addition we had worked up a vigorous appetite by planting a small oak tree, and ‘beating the bounds’ walking round the field.
The recipe comes from Cranks Bible by Nadine Abensur, I don’t intend to copy it word for word, I make no promises to have transcribed this accurately, so you had best buy the book; but it goes sort of like this.
For the meringue
8 egg whites.
1lb of castor sugar
4oz of toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
Beat the egg whites till they form stiff peaks, mix in the sugar a spoonful at a time, making sure it is well mixed before adding the next.
Draw three, 8in circles on baking parchment, use one third of the mixture for one of the circles, add the almonds to the remaining 2/3 of the mixture and divide between the two remaining circles. (it looks just like ‘wood-chip’ wallpaper circa 1967 at this stage.) place in oven (120c 250f) to dry out for 1 hour or longer (mine took two hours in the Aga)
For the chocolate mousse
7fl oz of double cream
1 tablespoon of icing sugar
9oz of slightly softened unsalted butter
4oz of top quality cocoa powder, I used ‘Green and Blacks’
4.5 oz caster sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of brandy
whip the cream and icing sugar till it just makes stiff peaks, set aside, in a separate bowl, mix the butter, sugar and cocoa powder, mix till there is no trace of powderiness, and the mixture is light and fluffy, fold in the whipped cream.
For the Chantilly cream
7fl oz of whipping cream
1 tablespoon of icing sugar.
To assemble
place one layer of almond meringue smooth side up and spread carefully with half the chocolate mousse, cover with the layer of plain meringue, spread with the remaining chocolate mousse then the Chantilly cream, set the third layer of meringue on top.
