Serves 4

• 4 egg whites
• 220g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• ———————
• 1 tsp instant coffee granules
• 250 ml double cream
• ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­21 tbsp vanilla extract
• ———————
• 100 ml double cream
• 75g plain chocolate, broken up

1. Pre heat the oven to 180. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add the sugar a little at a time, still whisking and the mixture should go stiff and glossy.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder and spread quite thickly over the baking tray.
4. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, the turn the heat down to 120C and bake for another 45 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
6. In a large bowl, dissolve the coffee in a little of the double cream and then add the remaining cream and vanilla.
7. Whisk at high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks.
8. Break up the cool meringue and divide between bowls or sundae glasses, alternating with the coffee cream. (You can chill this until you are ready to serve if you like)
9. When ready to serve, place the double cream in a pan and heat until just starting to simmer, then add the chocolate pieces and stir until melted. Pour over the meringue mess.

This is a delicious, light dessert and is great for a dinner party as you can make it a few hours ahead and then make up the sauce when you are about to serve it.