The double part refers to the mousse and the meringues both being chocolate. Don’t be put off by the relative length of this recipe, it really is easy and can be made hours ahead and even be stored for a day or two before final assembly. Once put together though, it must be eaten quickly as the delicate mousse doesn’t take long to deflate, out of the refrigerator and the meringues will quickly turn soggy once in contact with the mousse. The main attraction apart from how pretty this is would be the contrast between the intense but feather light mousse and the glass-brittle shell of the meringues which harbour yet another surprise – a soft and chewy marshmallow-like interior.

Preparation: 20 mins    Cook: 45 mins   Yields: 8 – 10

Meringues
2 large egg whites    
A pinch cream of tartar                    
100 g (slightly over ½ teacup) castor sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract                      
2 levelled Tbsp, sifted cocoa powder 
                    
Mousse
150 g dark chocolate (at least 50% cocoa solids) broken into pieces
300 ml (1 ½ teacups) chilled whipping cream      
1 tsp vanilla extract                  

Garnishes
Desired amount fresh berries of your choice for garnishing (optional)  
Small amount extra melted dark chocolate for drizzling (optional)    

  • Preheat oven at 120 C.
  •  Whisk egg whites till foamy then add cream of tartar and whisk till thick and creamy.  Whisk the castor sugar in by the spoonful till used up and meringue is very thick and dense. Whisk in the cocoa powder till well combined.
  • Fill a piping bag with the meringue mixture. Pipe a tiny blob of meringue on each of the four corners of a baking tray or sheet and place a sheet of baking paper over the tray or sheet. The blobs of meringue will hold the paper in place.
  • Pipe (or spoon if you don’t have a piping bag or aren’t comfortable using one) out 8cm rounds with a raised edge and sunken middle on the lined sheet, making sure they don’t touch each other. You should get 8 – 10 rounds, depending on the size of your eggs and how much volume you’re able to get out of them.
  • Bake for 45 minutes or until crusty on the outside. They will look unbaked because of the low baking temperature and will be chewy and relatively soft inside. When done, turn off oven and open door slightly. Allow meringues to remain in oven till completely cool.
  • While meringues bake, melt chocolate and set aside till cooled but still liquid.
  • Combine cream and vanilla in a separate clean bowl and whisk till standing in peaks. Gently fold chocolate into cream till combined, cover and chill.
  • When meringues are cool, remove from oven and store in an airtight container till ready to serve.  To serve, spoon or pipe mousse generously into the depression of each meringue. Garnish with berries and drizzle with melted dark chocolate if desired. Serve immediately.