Last weekend was our friend David's birthday - his cake, a choca mocha meringue mousse cake! Although there are a lot of steps to this recipe, it is worth the effort!

Choca Mocha Meringue Cake
Serves 8 Preparation time 40 minutes, baking time 1 hour, setting time 1 hour

For the meringue cake
6oz butter, plus extra for greasing
6oz + 10 1/2 oz caster sugar
6 eggs, separated
6oz self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
200ml milk
1 tbsp instant coffee granuales dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water and cooled
1 tsp cream of tartar
For the mousse
14oz 70% cocoa solid plain chocolate
3 eggs, separated
1 tbsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water and cooled
For the cream topping
300ml double cream
1 tbsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water and cooled
3 1/2 oz white and milk chocolate, grated into curls and chocolate coffee beans for decoration (optional)

Begin by preparing the mousse filling. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate has melted. Ensure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stand for 10 minutes to cool and then beat in the egg yolks and coffee. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the chocolate mixture with a spatula. Leave to chill in the fridge for one hour.
For the cake, grease two 20in spring form tins with a little butter and preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Whisk together the butter and 6oz of caster sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks and whisk again. Sift in the flour and baking powder, add the milk and coffee and gently fold in with a spatula. Divide the cake mixture between the two cake pans. Whisk the remaining egg whites to stiff peaks with the cream of tartar and then gradually add the remaining 10 1/2 oz of caster sugar until you have a glossy meringue. Spoon half the meringue mixture over each cake and spoon level with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 140C/275F/Gas Mark 1 and bake for a further 30 minutes until the meringue is crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tins. When you are ready to serve, invert one of the meringue cakes onto a serving plate and cover with spoonfuls of the set mousse. Place the second cake on top. Whip the double cream and coffee to stiff peaks and spread over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the chocolate curls. If you are decorating with chocolate coffee beans, retain a little of the cream and pipe into swirls around the edge of the cake, topping each swirl with a coffee bean.