Fluffy mocha clouds floating over rich flourless chocolate cake. # 297: Mocha Meringue Cake

Sometimes all you need is a slice of chocolate cake. The textures in this one add in a little extra joy: a marshmallowy topping that helps balance out the crazy thick, fudgy cake underneath.

The lack of flour means that there isn’t gluten to build a sturdy crumb structure. Hence, the ski slope from the edge of the cake to the middle. More room for meringue!

I love that this cake is supposed to be wrinkly and cracked. The meringue poofs up like a soufflé in the oven and then crinkles as it settles. It never claimed to be pretty and I applaud its confidence.

On a slightly-related cake note, Ruby Bhogal just posted the first of her “around the world in 80 cakes” project and I’m here for it! She’s starting with the 80th ranked favorite cake in the world (according to a Google search so clearly *ahem* super accurate) and working her way down to number one. Depending on her pacing it might turn into a cake overload, but I can’t wait to see her work through the list!

Sadly coming to end of orange season, but my cute little backyard garden has already given me a whole ripe strawberry to make me feel better. I’m waiting with bated breath for the sun gold cherry tomatoes and zucchini! Any bets on if my very confused Bay Area lemon tree will turn it’s adorable flowers into actual fruit this year?

Instead of a one-bowl cake, it’s a food processor cake! You pour in boiling hot coffee while the food processor is running to both melt the chopped chocolate and bloom the cocoa powder.

Welp. It’s definitely turned into a four-bowl-and-one-food-processor bake (eek sorry Nate, Dish Washer Extraordinaire).

Stiff-peak egg foam helps give it more of a cake structure (as opposed to it basically being fudge.) Air bubbles and egg white proteins putting in the work!

Heading to the oven to get a head start before the meringue clouds roll in.

Egg whites are truly the MVP of this bake.

Smells like a coffee shop in here.

The cornstarch and vinegar were the two surprise ingredients; I’m used to just using cream of tartar to stabilize meringue. Vinegar works the same magic though since it’s also acidic! The cornstarch is there to soak up any extra liquid that might make the meringue weepy or split.

I luckily remembered to sift the cornstarch in (nobody wants pop rocks in a meringue).

Trying to artfully spread meringue quickly on top of a half-baked cake with hot oven air smacking you in the face is quite an experience.

Meringue or mushroom?

Well it didn’t collapse in the way I was hoping, but it’s cooked so I’ll take it!

I’m still not over how much this looks like a mushroom.

I had to eat some of the overflow off the edges to get it to let go of the pan. Really took one for the team!

Loving the contrast between the crinkly chaotic top and the cleanly cut sides.

Happy munching!

Recipe from: https://www.oliveandmango.com/food-processor-flourless-chocolate-meringue-cake