Hazelnut and Apricot Meringue Cake

I bought the fabulous "Really Helpful Cookbook" by Ruth Watson some eight or so years ago. For some reason, when I did so,  I thumbed through it, drooled over several of the recipes, and then shelved it without ever cooking a single recipe until earlier this year. The truly odd thing was that one of the recipes became the equivalent of a cooking ear-worm: I simply could not stop thinking about this cake but I could not for the life of me think of where I had seen the recipe. This was something of a problem given that I own over two hundred cookbooks. When I finally decided to cook the incredibly delicious "Boursin Stuffed Chicken" that also features in this book, the pages fell open to this recipe and, after all these years, I was able to finally give it a try. 

Let me state up-front that though the cake would tempt even the most entrenched cake-hater, this is a very adult dessert: the apricots have that particular sharpness which is only enhanced by drenching them in hazelnut liqueur and the whole thing is terribly rich. If you like your sweets with a hint of bitterness then this is the dessert for you! All in all it is a spectacular dessert, stacked three layers high it would be the perfect end to a celebratory dinner (with little glasses of Amaretto to wash it down).

To serve 8 (or more if you are stingy with your servings)

FOR THE FILLING

250g unsulphured dried apricots (without stones)

3-4 tbsp amaretto liqueur

3OOml whipping or double cream
1 heaped tbsp natural icing sugar 

FOR THE MERINGUE LAYERS

280g natural caster sugar
1 rounded tsp cornflour

A pinch of ground cloves
5 large free-range egg whites
I00g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped fairly coarsely

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

The loose bases of 3 cake tins measuring 23cm diameter,
lined, with the edges very lightly oiled with groundnut (or
hazelnut) oil, or 3 baking sheets lined with parchment.

Preheat the oven to 120°C (fan), 140°C (conventional), gas mark 1.

Soak the apricots for about 8 hours in 2 tablespoons of amaretto, plus just enough warm water to cover them. Drain the plumped-up apricots thoroughly, then whizz them in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of amaretto until smooth. If the puree will take a little more amaretto, without becoming too sloppy, add another tablespoon. Leave the puree to one side.

To make the meringue, sift the sugar, cornflour and ground cloves together. Whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl until they form stiff glossy peaks, then whisk in a large tablespoon of the sugar mixture. Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold in the rest - about - a fifth at a time. Try to retain as much air in the mixture as possible.

If you want to be 'proper' about it you can line some baking sheets with parchment, and then draw neat circles on which to spread the meringue with architectural precision. I agree with Ms Watson that it is far easier to line appropriate-sized cake tin bases, because the shape's already there, and they take up much less space in the oven. You could also just splodge the meringue down any which way and have a hulking meringue monster of a cake...

Spread the meringue evenly on to the cake tin bottoms, leaving a 1/2 cm gap round the edge for the meringue to expand. Now sprinkle the nuts over each layer - don't worry if some spill over the edges.

Slide the meringue layers into the oven and cook them for 60 minutes. Switch off the oven and leave them for another hour, without opening the door. Remove the meringues from the oven, and leave to cool completely.
Meanwhile, whip the cream with the icing sugar into soft peaks.

To assemble the cake, gently peel off the parchment from the meringues, then place the first layer on to a serving plate, nut-side down. Spread with half the apricot puree, then half the whipped cream. Place the next layer on top, nut-side down, and spread with the remaining apricot and cream. Place the final layer on top, this time nut-side up. Press down very, very gently to meld the layers. Leave in a cool place until required or as long as you can manage not to eat it. This cake doesn't keep particularly well and gets stickier by the day so I recommend eating it all in the one sitting.