Preperation time 40 hour, plus cooking

Serves 10

This  gluten free cake is perfect for entertaining as  you make it the day before and it keeps for up to 3 days.

Ingredients

Chocolate Meringue Cake

1/4 cup ground almonds

1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut

30g grated dark chocolate, we suggest Zoloko Alto Beni 68%

1/4 cup good quality cocoa powder, we suggest Zoloko or Green and Blacks

7 egg whites

1/3 cup caster sugar

1 1/3 cups icing sugar sifted

1 tbspn vincotto, we suggest Tabletop grape vincotto

Marscapone Filing

500g marscapone

1/4 cup double cream

70g caster sugar

2 eggs, seperated

1 tbspn vincotto

2 punnets strawberrries washed and sliced,  with a few whole reserved for the top.

Method

Preheat oven to 150C

Use a 25cm springform tin to make two outlines on baking paper and place on 1 large or 2 smaller trays.

Whisk egg whites until soft peaks for then gradually add the sugar and whisk until mixture is thick and glossy, do not overmix the eggs or they will not maintain their shape.

Mix the coconut, ground almonds, cocoa and chocolate thoroughly in a seperate bowl.

Gently fold the icing sugar into the egg whites until just combined then fold in the chocolate mixture and vincotto in batches until just combined.

Spread mixture evenly over the two traced circles, bake for 30 mins or until golden, remove from oven and cool on the tray.

Whisk marscapone, 2/3 of the sugar and the egg yolks then add the cream  and vincotto and whisk until very thick. Whisk the 2 egg whites in a seperate bowl until soft peaks form then gradually add the rest of the sugar and beat until firm peaks. Fold half the egg whites into the marscapone mixture then gently fold in the rest of the whites.

Place a meringue cake on the base of the greased springform tin, top with half marscapone mixture then strawberries then another layer of filing. Top with the second meringue cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, run a knife around the outside of the cake, then carefully remove the tin, use a pallet knife remove the cake from the cake tin base. Plate, top with whole strawberries and sprinkle with icing sugar.