Much easier than Sarah Bernhardt cookies…

…and quite possibly the best cake in the universe! A trio of textures: a base of chewy almond meringue, a silky chocolate ganache filling, and a shell of pure dark chocolate. But, rather than fiddling with little cookies, make your Sarah Bernhardt in a large baking tin.

Sarah Bernhardt made in a roasting pan or large cake tin (scroll down for recipe)

Translated and adapted from detsoteliv.no

A happy helper!

The almond meringue base after baking.

Ganache filling

Chocolate glaze…

Eat…

and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Almond meringue base:
400 g almonds
400 g sugar
4 tsp baking powder
6 egg whites

Chocolate ganache cream:
250 g butter
200 g icing sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tsp vanilla sugar

Chocolate glaze:
200 g dark cooking chocolate
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions: 
Grind the almonds and mix with baking powder. Beat the egg whites until peaks are formed. Add the sugar little by little, and whip until you have a thick meringue batter. Fold in the almonds. Spread evenly into a large, baking paper lined baking tin (about 30×40 cm). Bake in the middle of the oven at 175°C for 20 min.

Cool the cake in the tin until completely cold – even better, put in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready for the next step.

To make the chocolate cream, whip soft butter with icing sugar. Add the egg yolks and beat well. Finally, beat in the cocoa powder and vanilla sugar. Spread the chocolate cream over the cold almond meringue base in an even layer.

Chill the cake for a couple of hours (see tip).

Carefully melt the cooking chocolate and the butter. Spread a thin layer of chocolate over the cold cake. Chill the cake again until the chocolate glaze hardens.

Divide the cake into squares with a sharp knife. To serve, lift the pieces of cake out carefully with a spatula.

Tips: The almond meringue base must be completely cold when adding the chocolate ganache, otherwise it will melt into the cake. Similarly, the cake and the chocolate ganache must be very cold before you add the chocolate glaze. If possible, put the cake in the fridge or freezer for an hour between layers.

Normally, the cake dissappears very quickly. If not, it will keep for several days in the fridge. Just be sure to keep it cool, or it will become sticky. It also freezes well.