Every once in a while I get a hankering for a rich dark chocolate cake recipe. I’ve been researching famous foods in Portugal for my upcoming trip and have been obsessing over the “world’s best chocolate cake” at a shop in Lisbon called O Melhor Do Mundo Bolo De Chocolate. So, with all the chocolate cake I’ve been dreaming of, I decided to make a rich and delicious chocolate meringue cake. A dense European style cake with a rich brownie-like batter, lightened with meringue. A chocolate mousse essentially with flour and cocoa added and baked. Hopefully the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made.

A Chocolate Family

I’ve always loved chocolate. Both my mom and grandmother are chocolate lovers, too. My mom used to go out of her way to find specific Easter and Halloween candy at non-local drug stores. She would buy them out completely and take home an entire box of chocolate to last until the next year. She is very serious about chocolate. My grandmother eats chocolate croissants and can’t help herself from eating entire chocolate bars or bags of M&M’s sometimes. So, chocolate is in my DNA.

It was recently my birthday, and I considered making chocolate cake for the big day. Nothing is more me and my family dessert-wise than chocolate cake. But I opted for tiramisu, which was incredibly delicious. And honestly my favorite dessert. Probably. Out of sheer boredom and fascination with chocolate cake recipes one day, I decided to make a rich chocolate meringue cake. Just for fun. And I did a lot of research before making my ultimate recipe.

Torta Caprese and Italian Chocolate Cakes

I wanted a one-layer, thick and rich chocolate meringue cake with deep chocolate flavor and chewy yet velvety texture. Something so delicious that you don’t need fudge or ganache or frosting to cover up a boring, dry cake. I was dreaming of European cakes dusted with cocoa powder and packaged in golden bakery boxes with a navy blue string. I started by revisiting my brownie recipe. My chocolate layer cake recipe. And a torta caprese recipe from Italy. I knew I wanted to use melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Accentuate the chocolate flavor with espresso powder. And pack the cake with lots of butter and sugar. 

In the process of writing things down, I had the idea to separate the eggs and whip the egg whites with the sugar. I would create a stiff meringue and fold it through the rich chocolate meringue cake batter, like a soufflé. But I wanted to bake it in a large springform pan, low and slow, to achieve a chewy texture. I wanted the taste and texture of a chocolate truffle with a chew and deep chocolate flavor. 

Melted Chocolate and Butter

So, I started by mixing my cake batter. Melting chocolate and whisking happily while listening to music in a summer-turning autumn breeze. I listened to the hum of the stand mixer as it whipped my egg whites. Adding sugar as they swirled and shaped into a stiff, white meringue. I folded the meringue through the chocolate meringue cake batter slowly and became hypnotized by the swirling streaks of white disappearing into rich chocolate brown. It was so satisfying to make, and it went by in a flash. Soon I was buttering and dusting a springform pan with cocoa powder. 

I poured my chocolate meringue cake batter into the pan and dusted it lightly with cocoa powder. Then, I slid the pan into my oven and set a timer. I relaxed and listened to a podcast while the smell of cocoa and butter and caramelizing sugar filled the house. My mind wandered back to my 14th birthday. Which I can’t believe was 15 years ago. I began to remember that awkward, scared teen boy.

Chocolate Meringue Cake

It was the day before my first day of high school. Step up day. When the freshmen went to a normal day of high school, but by themselves, to adjust. The upperclassmen would join us the next day, which I was dreading. So, I had no idea what to expect. The rules would change, and the stakes were higher. My grades would count for college applications. Homework would become monstrous and complex. My new teachers wouldn’t tolerate frequent bathroom breaks, or back of classroom giggling. There would be no more crafty history projects and poster-board presentations or sugar cookie snacks before Christmas.

My biggest worry was the upperclassmen. I would be at the bottom of the totem pole. And I knew how awkward and shy I was. A 14-year-old trying to find myself as quickly as possible before others could use my insecurities against me. What would high school gym class be like? Would I make the tennis team? What if I had a ton of reading that I couldn’t finish. And what if I was bullied or shoved in a locker? Most of these things happened at some point. And it was awful, at first. A right of passage for most sensitive, shy kids jumping into the deep end. 

Baking to De-Stress

So, my anxieties on the eve of high school were not unfounded. I spent the day in a new shirt baking the “midnight chocolate cake” from the Flour cookbook by Joanne Chang. I lost myself in creaming butter and sugar. Melting chocolate. Measuring and sifting flour and salt and baking powder. I stopped while it was baking to play my new video game. Then, I tackled Joanne’s “crispy magic frosting” which implied ease and simplicity. However, the recipe required making a Swiss or Italian meringue. Which I had never made before. Then, slowly emulsifying softened butter into the meringue to create a buttercream. It could go wrong so many times. 

I remember my frosting being a little soupy and floppy. I was disappointed, with impossibly high standards for myself. A food blog after a quick google search recommended chilling the buttercream in the fridge and whipping it again. So, I pessimistically placed my buttercream bowl in the fridge and sighed, checking my cake batter in the oven. I was searching for perfection in a sea of chaos, and I didn’t find it. It was hard to judge the doneness of my cake because of the dark color. So, I hesitated, and before I knew it the cake was slightly burnt. I could tell the second it came out of the oven. 

My First Chocolate Cake

I didn’t wait long enough for it to cool down. So, slicing layers was a precarious and crumby process. They were uneven, and my dream of a beautiful bakery cake started to disappear. But then, just like my experience in high school, everything started to get better after the chaos. The buttercream was fixed after a chill and a quick whip. It was the exact color and consistency as the cookbook picture. It tasted heavenly. The crumb coat on the cake fixed the imperfections of the layers. I slowed down and took my time and chilled the cake before coating it in a final, glossy layer of buttercream. It was beautiful, and I was proud.

It tasted a little burnt. As hard as I tried to ignore it, the cake had a note of burnt, charcoal-y flavor. But the chocolate sang, and the texture was not overly dry with the buttercream. The buttercream was silky and delicious and set up in the fridge to create clean, precise slices. It wasn’t my best work. But I spent that night eating cake with my parents. Ignoring the impending anxiety about going to bed and waking up a high schooler. I picked out my first day outfit and slept restlessly.

Delightfully Cracked Meringue Cake

It’s all so simple in retrospect. But I can still feel that doom and anxiety. How it felt to jump into the unknown and have no choice. But 15 years later, I’m proud of that kid for passionately creating something delicious and beautiful that day instead of wallowing in fear. I chose to harness my energy into joy and community, sharing my cake with my family. Which is something that I still do. High school was rough, and new, and uncomfortable. But after a while I found my confidence. I settled into my classes. I excelled. Made good friends. Made the tennis team and had a blast. I graduated with honors and delivered a speech about living life through the eyes of a child. I got into my dream school.

The timer beeped, and I pulled my chocolate cake out of the oven. It had risen slightly and cracked from the meringue and sugar. It was beautiful and simple and the chocolate cake scent wafted over me. I let it rest before taking it out of the pan and dreamed of what it would taste like. Soon, it was cool to the touch, and I unbuckled the outer metal shell. I realized I forgot to use parchment paper at the bottom, but it came off with a light scrape of a knife. I sliced myself a piece and sat in the sun with a fork and a black plate. It was that fudgy, deeply rich and chocolatey flavor I had dreamed of. Not too sweet. It had the essence of a giant chocolate truffle with a slight chew and light crumb. 

The Best Chocolate Cake in the World

Unlike my 14th birthday cake, it was cooked perfectly. It was simple, and carried the silkiness of the meringue buttercream and the rich chocolate essence of the cake crumb. All in one. I’ve learned to embrace simplicity in my 20’s. Patience. And this cake represents what I love most. My chocolate-loving family. Art and cooking. Patience. The joy of relaxing and rewarding yourself for no reason. Sugar. Dessert. I can’t wait to try “the best chocolate cake in the world” in Portugal soon and compare. The lifelong quest for the best chocolate dessert continues. But this cake is pretty close. I’m enjoying eating it, that’s for sure. 

Thanks so much for reading, as always. If you like my art and recipes, be sure to check out Etsy for 100’s of my art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. 

Print Pin

Dark Chocolate Meringue Cake

A rich chocolate cake batter lightened with meringue and baked

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword chocolate cake, chocolate recipes

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 10 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate 70-80%
• 1/4 cup demerara sugar
• 2 tbsp mascarpone or sour cream
• 1 cup flour minus 1 tbsp
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp espresso powder
• 8 egg whites
• 3/4 cup white sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Butter and dust a springform pan with cocoa powder. Line the bottom with a greased disc of parchment paper.
• In a large pyrex or microwave-safe bowl, melt butter (1-2 minutes)
• Add chocolate, turbinado sugar, and mascarpone to melted butter. Stir to combine.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder.
• In a stand mixer, whip egg whites for 1-2 minutes until foamy. Slowly add white sugar and beat on high until a stiff meringue forms.
• Fold the sifted dry ingredients into your melted chocolate and butter mixture. You will have a stiff brownie-like batter.
• Fold in your stiff egg whites one spoonful at a time until no streaks remain. Be careful not to deflate the air in the egg whites.
• Once your batter has the consistency of chocolate mousse, transfer to prepared springform pan and bake for 30 minutes.
• Cool and remove from pan.