Chocolate, date and meringue cake

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan forced). Grease and line a loaf tin, 23 cm x 12.7 cm x 6.5 cm in size.
2. Place the dates into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the dates, then sprinkle the bicarbonate soda (A) on top. Set aside to soak while you prepare the cake batter.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
4. Slowly add in the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
5. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and bicarbonate soda (B), then mix until just combined. Add the dates, including the water they were soaking in and mix to incorporate.
6. Fold the dark and milk chocolate, as well as the roasted almonds, through the batter.
7. Transfer into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the batter to create an even surface.
8. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes. Prepare the meringue while the cake bakes. Note: You do not want to completely bake the cake at this point as it will continue baking when the meringue is placed on top. Ensure you begin making the meringue with enough time to have it ready when the cake is being removed from the oven.
9. For the meringue: Place the egg whites, caster sugar and cream of tartar into a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the water does not touch the bowl. Continuously whisk by hand until the mixture reaches 60°C.
10. Remove from the heat and whip to create a shiny meringue.
11. Add the sieved icing sugar and gently fold through.
12. Once the cake has been removed from the oven, spoon the meringue on top. Use the back of a spoon to spread the meringue over the cake surface and ensure there are no air pockets between the meringue and the cake. Shape the meringue so that it is lower around the edges and rises in the centre, pulling the spoon up to create scattered peaks.
13. Return to the oven and bake for a total of 28 minutes, this includes the time taken to bake just the cake.
14. Allow to cool completely at room temperature before removing from the tin.