Easy baking sure to impress

I was given a new cookbook on Monday by a work friend who is moving to Melbourne. Lucky for me he deemed this particular book not worthy of taking with him. It's called cakes & slices from the Murdoch Books Test Kitchen. As I flipped through the pages, I had an urge to bake. I picked out two recipes to try first and then bought the ingredients on the way home. For the past few months, I've had oodles of caster sugar in my pantry. Unbeknownst to me, I used most of it up so only had enough sugar to make one of the slices I'd chosen from the book. Oh well, a treat for another day.

The recipe I choose was super easy and had minimal ingredients, so if you want a really rich, chocolately treat to impress someone, try this.

Chocolate Truffle Macaroon slice

3 egg whites, at room temperature

170g caster sugar

180g desiccated coconut

300ml pouring cream

250g dark chocolate

1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and line a square baking tin.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form then slowly add the caster sugar and continue beating until mixture is thick and glossy. Fold in the coconut. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden. When you remove the tin from the oven, lightly press the top down using a spatula. Allow to cool completely in the tin (don't remove it from the tin).

In a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the water isn't touching the base of the bowl), gently melt the chocolate. Once melted, remove from heat and let cool slightly. In a bowl, beat the cream until thick then fold through the chocolate. Pour over the coconut base. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

When ready to serve, cut into small slices and dust with cocoa powder.  Allow the slices to stand at room temperature so the truffle is lovely and soft. ENJOY!