Ingredients
- For the brownie base
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200g/7oz good-quality dark chocolate roughly chopped
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200g/7oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
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250g/8¾oz icing sugar
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3 free-range eggs
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110g/4oz plain flour
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- For the meringue topping
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4 free-range egg whites
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200g/7oz caster sugar
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½ tsp cream of tartar
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100g/3½oz hazelnuts, roasted, chopped
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- For the filling
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300ml/10½fl oz whipping cream
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100g//3½oz icing sugar
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200g/7oz raspberries
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- To serve
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handful hazelnuts, chopped
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handful pistachios, chopped
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Preparation method
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Grease and line two 23cm/9in sandwich tins
- For the brownie base, melt 180g/6¼oz of the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan over simmering water. Chop the remaining chocolate and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cream the butter and icing sugar together in a separate bowl until light, creamy and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
- Gradually beat in the flour until the mixture is very smooth. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate and fold it into the mixture, then fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared sandwich tins and bake for 10-12 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
- Meanwhile for the meringue topping, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk the sugar until smooth and glossy, then fold in the chopped hazelnuts with a metal spoon.
- Spoon the meringue topping onto the cooked brownie base. Use a palette knife to smooth the meringue mixture in one sandwich tin and use a skewer to make peaks in the meringue mixture in the other tin.
- Return the sandwich tins to the oven for a further 30 minutes, or until the meringue is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Carefully remove the cakes from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.
- For the filling, whip the cream and icing sugar together in a bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Fold in the raspberries.
- To assemble, place the flat meringue brownie, meringue-side down onto a cake stand or large plate, spoon over the raspberry cream and top with the remaining cake, brownie-side down. Sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts and pistachios.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk
