Hot Chocolate Meringue Cake

Thick chocolate cake, soaked with hot chocolate, topped with a rich chocolate ganache and finished with a pile of toasted meringue, this Hot Chocolate Meringue cake is perfect for the winter!

Why do you soak a cake?

Layer cakes are often “soaked” with a simple syrup to keep them moist or save a dry cake. In this case I wanted to find a way to infuse that hot chocolate flavor so the base cake is completely soaked with a homemade hot chocolate. The soak gives this cake a rich fudgy kind of texture.

Can I use hot chocolate mix?

Yes absolutely! You can totally make hot chocolate for the soak with a mix but I wanted to give the option of homemade!

What if I don’t have a kitchen torch?

If you don’t have a kitchen torch, don’t stress! You can either leave it as is and it will still be delicious or you can swirl cocoa powder or melted chocolate into the meringue to give it a little extra flavor and visual interest – err on the side of under swirling because it will continue to mix as you top the cake with it. Lastly if you’re more of a whipped cream over marshmallows kind of person, make a big batch of lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream and pile that on top of the cake!

Tips for making a Hot Chocolate Meringue Cake

• Make sure all the butter and eggs for the cake are at room temperature – this will help get a smooth and fluffy cake batter. If the butter is too soft or melted the cake batter will turn soupy and not whip up properly.
• If you don’t have an espresso machine, strongly brewed coffee, cold brew or grabbing a double shot at a local coffee shop will all work.
• Usually if I’m using USA pans, I don’t worry about my cake sticking but this chocolate cake has a tendency to stick. I recommend using a baking spray with flour in it on the bottom of the cake pan.
• Don’t store the freshly baked cakes in the fridge, it will dry them out. Leave the freshly baked cake, wrapped in plastic at room temperature until you assemble if you are making it in advance.
• I love this cake because it doesn’t need hours to set and I like to serve it at room temperature so I recommend making it day of. But, if you need to prep anything you can bake the cake ahead of time, soak it and keep it covered in the fridge once soaked!
• If your ganache gets too cold it will become quite firm and I think it’s best when it’s smooth and spreadable – think peanut butter consistency. If you find it’s firmed up, set it somewhere warm or place the bowl over warm water to loosen it back up.
• If you’re more of a whipped cream over marshmallows kind of person, make a big batch of lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream and pile that on top of the cake!
• If you don’t have a kitchen torch, don’t stress the meringue will also be delicious without torching. If you want to buy one this is what I have!

Additional Cake Recipes to try!

• Chocolate Pear & Hazelnut Cake
• September Birthday Cake
• Dirty Chai Tiramisu Chocolate Cake

Hot Chocolate Meringue Cake Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this cake!
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These both help make the cake rise – make sure to check the expiration date!
• Cocoa Powder: Both dutch processed and natural cocoa powder will work here.
• Salt: A little bit of salt enhances the flavors and balances out the sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste add flavor and enhances the chocolate and vanilla flavors.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There are whole eggs in the batter, and egg whites in the meringue.
• Sugar: This chocolate cake uses granulated sugar in the cake batter and the meringue, and a little brown sugar in the hot chocolate soak.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream adds moisture and richness to the cake – full fat greek yogurt will work too in a pinch!
• Butter: Salted adds moisture and richness to the cake and ganache, just make sure it is at room temperature.
• Espresso: A double shot of espresso or 35 grams of strongly brewed coffee will work for the cake. Alternatively strongly brewed coffee, cold brew, or espresso from a coffee shop will work!
• Milk: Whole milk is the base of the hot chocolate soak.
• Chocolate: 60% semi sweet chocolate is used in the ganache and hot chocolate.
• Flaky Salt: I like to add a bit of flaky sea salt on the chocolate ganache to balance out all of the sweetness.

How to make a Hot Chocolate Meringue Cake?

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.

Chocolate cake batter

• In a medium mixing bowl add in the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa. Whisk to combine.
• Then in the center of the bowl add in the soft butter, eggs, vanilla, sour cream and espresso.
• Beat until smooth on medium high speed, starting on low and then increasing. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
• Spray your cake pan with a nonstick baking spray and pour in the cake batter. Smooth out the top, then bake in the hot oven for 25 minutes.
• After 25 minutes, rotate the cake 180 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Leave to cool completely.

Hot Chocolate Soak

• In a heavy bottomed pot add in the milk, cocoa powder, light brown sugar, and salt.
• Heat over medium low heat whisking frequently until steaming and the cocoa powder and sugar have both dissolved.
• Add in the chocolate and vanilla and whisk again until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.

Soak the Cake

• Once the cake has cooled, take it out of the cake pan. Use a serrated knife to trim off the surface layer of the cake just to expose the insides.
• Put the cake on a piece of parchment paper and then back into the same cake pan.
• Use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake all the way to the bottom. Carefully pour or brush the hot chocolate soak over the cake. It will seem like a lot but you want to use it all. If it isn’t soaking in anymore, let it sit for 10 minutes, poke a few more holes and add more soak.
• Let the cake sit in the soak while prepping the ganache and meringue.
• You could prep this the day before and keep it covered in the fridge once soaked!

Chocolate Ganache

• In a medium heat safe bowl add in the dark chocolate. It should be roughly chopped or just broken up by hand.
• Heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pot on the stove until steaming. It shouldn’t be boiling. It’s not the end of the world if it starts to bubble, just turn the heat off immediately.
• Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate and cover with a cutting board or lid. Let sit for 1 minute.
• After 1 minute has passed, remove the cover and whisk gently until smooth. Add in 40 grams of soft butter and whisk again until smooth.
• Set aside, stirring gently every 10-15 minutes until it has thickened and cooled enough to be spreadable but not run off the sides of the cake.

Meringue topping

• In the bowl of a stand mixer (I think a hand mixer will work too, it will just take ages but I’ve never tried it), add in the egg whites, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.
• Place a medium sauce pot half way full with water onto the stove. Bring the water to a simmer.
• Set the mixing bowl with the egg whites and sugar over the bowl of simmering water and turn the heat to low. The water shouldn’t touch the bottom of the mixing bowl.
• Whisk the egg whites and sugar constantly until the sugar has fully dissolved into the egg whites. To check and see if the sugar has dissolved, pinch and rub some of the mixture in between your fingers and feel if you still feel any of the sugar granules, if not you’re good to go. If you do just keep cooking a bit longer.
• Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat and remove the bowl from the water. Leave it to cool off for about 10 minutes.
• Using your mixer, whip the egg white mixture first on medium and then on high speed until fluffy, shiny and stiff.
• Add in the vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract will work too!) and whip again until combined.

Assemble

• Carefully (the cake will be more fragile because of the soak) transfer the cake to a cake stand.
• Scoop the chocolate ganache over the cake and use the back of a spoon to level it out to the edges of the cake. Sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt.
• Use a big spoon or rubber spatula to scoop the meringue on top of the ganache. The bigger the scoops the more billowy it will look. Of course you can do this however you want!
• If you have a torch, torch the surface of the meringue otherwise leave it as is and it will still be delicious! Serve immediately!

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