Chestnut Cream Meringue Cake

5 from 1 vote

Chestnut Cream Meringue Cake

Layers of crunchy meringue interspersed with rum spiked chestnut cream and topped with chocolate shavings. This chestnut cream meringue cake is a decadent dessert fit for any dinner party or even as an alternative or addition to the Christmas pudding. You can even serve it frozen as an ice-cream gateau.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1 5

Setting Time4

Total Time5 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keyword: chestnuts, crème fraîche, meringue

Servings: people

Calories: 173kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

Meringues

3 egg whites
120 g golden caster sugar (I used homemade cardamom sugar and omitted the vanilla extract)
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Chestnut Cream

½ tin sweetened chestnut puree (about 220g)
2 tbsp rum
40 g icing sugar
300 ml crème fraîche (I used homemade)
10 g chocolate shavings (I used 37% milk chocolate)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Meringues

Whisk the egg whites until the soft peak stage.
3 egg whites
Gradually whisk in the sugar until you get stiff peaks. If you turn the bowl upside down, the meringue should stay exactly where it is. If not, keep whisking.
120 g golden caster sugar
Whisk in the cocoa.
1 tbsp cocoa powder
Carefully stir in the vinegar and vanilla extract.
1 tsp apple cider vinegar, ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment and draw 3 saucer sized circles (about 15 cm) on the parchment. The meringues spread to about 17 cm when cooked, so leave a suitable sized gap between them.
Divide the mixture between the three circles and spread with a palette knife or the back of a spoon to fill them and make an even layer.
Bake at 150℃ (300℉, Gas 2) for 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 100℃ (212℉, Gas ¼) for a further 35 minutes.
Turn the oven off but leave the meringues in until the oven is cold.

Chestnut Cream

Using a wooden spoon, beat the chestnut puree with the rum and icing sugar until smooth.
½ tin sweetened chestnut puree, 2 tbsp rum, 40 g icing sugar
Stir in the crème fraîche until combined.
300 ml crème fraîche
Place a meringue circle on a plate and spread with ⅓ of the chestnut cream.
Top this with another meringue circle and spread with another ⅓ of the cream.
Top with the final meringue and spread the last ⅓ of cream over the top.
Shave about the chocolate over the top to decorate.
10 g chocolate shavings
Place in the fridge to set and chill. This will take about 4 hours.

Notes

The cake is quite rich, so you only need a small slice, but you could cut the cake into six slices if you think eight is too much of a stretch. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Alternatively freeze for four hours or until set and serve as an ice cream gateau. If not serving the frozen version straight away, cover with clingfilm once frozen and place it back in the freezer for up to a month.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition