Blackout Buttercream Cake with Meringue

Pre-heat the oven to 160C (fan forced) and grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin with baking paper.

Place all of the ingredients into stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix together on medium speed until well incorporated and the mixture is light in colour. It’s important that your butter is soft, or you’ll be beating for a long time.

Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake on the bottom shelf of your oven for 1½ hours turning halfway. Your cake is cooked when the top bounces back when gently pressed, or a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out with a few damp crumbs stuck to it. Allow to cool in tin.

To make the buttercream, beat butter until light and creamy. Add sifted icing sugar and cocoa 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated, then increase the mixer to a medium high speed and beat until light and smooth. Add cream, Vanilla Extract and Black Food Colour Gel and continue beating on medium high speed until icing is luscious and easy to spread.

To make the chocolate sail, melt white chocolate in microwave. Scrunch a piece of baking paper into a ball then smooth out. Use an offset palette knife to spread chocolate out over baking paper and use pegs to shape the baking paper. Once set, break chocolate apart to make sails.

Use a bread knife to carefully cut cake into two and level off domed top. Stick one half of cake to cake stand using a little icing, fill with a generous amount of icing, and top with the other half of your cake. Pop in fridge for 15 minutes to set icing.

Use an offset spatula to add icing to top and sides of the cake. It’s easiest to add too much icing to cake first, and remove excess while smoothing sides.

To make meringue, add egg white to a mixing bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Add sugar a few tablespoons at a time, mixing on high speed. When all sugar has been added mix on high speed for 5 – 10 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved and meringue has stiff peaks.

Spoon the meringue onto cake and use the back of a spoon to add texture to meringue. Fire up brulee torch (you’ll find them at most kitchen stores) and gently toast meringue, being careful not to set it alight or melt buttercream. Carefully add chocolate sails toward back of cake. Sit a little meringue behind sails to hold them in place if you need to – don’t toast this or you’ll melt the chocolate.

Add blueberries and strawberries cut into slices and quarters. Top with macadamias and yogurt covered fruit. Cut wafers in half on an angle and add to the top of cake with slices of nougat and papaya. Fill any gaps with natural almonds. Serve and enjoy immediately!