Champagne, Rose & Cherry Layer Cake With Chocolate Torched Meringue

Say it with cake. Adorned with elegant flavours and beautiful shapes, this dessert is a lovely gift to bake for a friend, your family or loved one. Perfect for a special evening in, it’s a stunning creation that’s sure to show you care. Serve with your favourite fizz for a delightful little moment.

• 4 Large Eggs, room temperature
• 270g Golden Caster Sugar
• 110g Full Fat Thick Greek Yogurt
• 30ml Champagne/ Prosecco
• 1 ½ tsp Rose Water
• 245g Plain Flour
• 4g Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Salt
• 90g Unsalted Butter
• 4-5 tbsp Cherry Compote/ Jam
• Fresh Cherries to garnish

• 300g Caster Sugar

• 70g Water

• 145g Egg White (around 5 Eggs)

• 50g Dark Chocolate, melted

1. Begin with the cake. Grease and lightly flour an 8” springform tin. Set aside in the fridge to chill.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Add the eggs and sugar to the base of a stand mixer and whip on medium high for 5-6 minutes or until pale, light and fluffy. Meanwhile, mix the yogurt with the champagne and rose water.
3. Take a heaped spoonful of the whipped egg mixture and fold it through the yogurt mixture to lighten. Add all the yogurt mixture back into the eggs and fold gently until homogenous.
4. Add the butter to a small pan and melt over a medium heat and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt until incorporated.
5. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches to the egg mixture, very gently folding each one without deflating the mix. Finally add the melted butter and fold through until fully incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf for 50-60 minutes, or util a skewer comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cool, split the cake horizontally into two equal pieces.
9. Make the meringue. Add the sugar and water to a small pan and heat over a medium heat until the mixture reads between 118-121°C on a sugar thermometer. Whilst it is coming to temperature, whip the egg whites until foamy. Do not use a high speed for this as you will have an unstable foam.
10. When the sugar has come to temperature, remove from the heat, and pour in a steady stream down the side of the bowl, avoiding the whisk attachment. Beat on high for 5-8 minutes until you have a thick glossy meringue.
11. Gently fold through the melted chocolate using a spatula, leaving nice streaks, and taking care not to deflate the mix.
12. Take a little of the meringue and spread on one half of the cake. Top with the jam and sandwich together. Use the remaining meringue to coat the top and sides of the cake, creating peaks and swirls as you go.
13. Using a blow torch, gently burnish parts of the meringue. Serve immediately garnished with fresh cherries.