If you ever have to look for a recipe that is quick and delicious and will probably not need you to run to the grocery store everytime you want to make it, just open a book from Nigella Lawson and it will be there! I am such a believer in Nigella's recipes. And recently when I was preparing an Italian themed dinner, I decided to go with this recipe for Meringue Gelato Cake. It was super simple and easy and the texture was fantastic with the contrast of the meringue and cream with the fresh fruit and chocolate sauce.

I will highly recommend this recipe for the ease of it! It does not get easier than this and the end product is fantastic. The original recipe has been featured in the book Nigellisima which is my goto book for inspiration every once in a while. I did make some changes to her original recipe. I omitted the coffee liqueur / rum in the recipe but I did replace it in the meringue with some arabica extract. I also felt the quantity of chocolate sauce was more than what I needed so I cut the recipe in half. That was just the perfect amount to serve with one cake.

Ingredients:

For the meringue gelato cake

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1 oz bittersweet chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids)

1 tsp coffee extract

4 oz store bought meringue cookies/meringue nests

8 oz Mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries) to serve (optional)

For the chocolate sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

For the cake

1. Line a loaf tin with cling wrap making sure to leave enough overhang to cover the top.

2. Whip the cream until thick but still soft.

3. Chop the chocolate finely and fold it into the cream along with the coffee extract.

4. Place the meringue cookies in a ziploc bag and crumble them with a rolling pin into small pieces.

5. Fold the meringue cookies into the cream mixture and put it into the prepared loaf pan. Press the mixture nicely into the tin and cover with the cling film overhang.

6. Place in the freezer till the mixture is solid 8 hours to overnight.

7. To serve, unwrap the outer layer of plastic wrap, unpeel the top and use these bits of long overhanging wrap to lift out the ice-cream brick. Unwrap and unmould it onto a board and cut the frozen meringue cake into slabs to serve.

8. Drizzle with the chocolate sauce on each slice and serve with some fresh berries on the side.

For the chocolate sauce

1. Pour the cream into a saucepan and add the chopped chocolate.

2. Place the pan over gentle heat and whisk as the chocolate melts, taking the pan off the heat once the chocolate is cooled. If you overheat the chocolate, it may seize.

3. Add the vanilla extract to the sauce. Pour the sauce into a sauce jug, continue whisking it every once in a while as it cools.