La Foret Enchantee chocolate cake with cocoa meringue sticks

Dissolve one third cup of cocoa powder in a quarter cup of boiling water; reserve a tablespoon of cocoa separately.

Stir the vanilla extract and softened butter into the cocoa mixture until smooth, then set aside to cool.

Beat the egg yolks with half a cup of the sugar for five minutes, until light and fluffy.

Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture.

Optional: mix in the almond flour just until incorporated, scraping down the bowl.

In a larger bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, sprinkle in the cream of tartar, beat to soft peaks.

Beat in the remaining sugar gradually and continue to stiff peaks.

Fold about a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest, counterclockwise, lifting and turning; do not overwork.

Grease a 17 by 12 inch jelly roll pan, line with parchment overhanging the sides, grease again and flour the inside.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake at 350F for about 18 minutes, until puffed, dull and springing back when lightly pressed.

Leave the cake in the pan, sprinkle the reserved tablespoon of cocoa over the top and cover immediately with a clean dry towel; cool.

Pulse the bittersweet dark chocolate in a food processor until very fine, almost like cocoa powder.

Heat the heavy cream to the boiling point and pour it through the feed tube with the processor running, until smooth.

Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cold, stirring once or twice, two hours.

Combine the powdered sugar and two tablespoons of cocoa powder and set aside.

Beat four egg whites to frothy, add the cream of tartar, then beat in the superfine sugar in stages to stiff and glossy peaks.

Sift the cocoa and powdered sugar mixture over the meringue and fold in with a large rubber spatula.

Fill a piping bag with a number 12 nozzle.

Pipe 12 inch sticks on a lined baking sheet, starting at the top of the pan with steady pressure; lower the tube while piping so it touches the surface for a nubbly irregular finish.

Bake at 200F for 50 minutes or until dry; each tray took about an hour.

Cut two cardboard ovals nine and three quarter inches by seven inches.

Remove the cooled cake from the pan and cut around each cardboard oval with a scalpel; discard the surrounding cake.

Add the vanilla extract to the chilled ganache and beat only to very soft peaks.

If the ganache overbeats and turns grainy, remelt it, chill and re-beat.

Set the remelted ganache over an ice bath and stir frequently to speed chill, not letting it get too cold to hold air; mix carefully to very soft peaks, finishing with a handheld whisk once it thickens.

Break the meringue sticks into uneven lengths of two to four inches, peeling them off the tray.

Spread a little ganache on one cardboard oval, set a cake oval on it, spread two thirds of the ganache about half an inch thick, top with the second cake oval and spread the remaining ganache over the top and sides; the cake should stand about an inch and a half high.

Slide spatulas under the two cardboard pieces and move the cake to a serving dish.

Dip the tops of the meringue sticks in cocoa and powdered sugar.

Stand meringue sticks round the edge of the cake with the flat sides against the ganache and all the flat ends facing the same way, then press the remaining sticks into the cake down to the base.