Bounty cake (baunti torta)

In my family, bounty cake is a must for every birthday. Even after all this time, it’s still everybody’s favourite. It entered our lives during the 1990s, when my mother got the recipe from our neighbour. These were years of economic sanctions, so locals became very inventive, replicating famous sweets that were too expensive to buy or impossible to find, such as the Bounty chocolate bar. Of all the copycat recipes that came out during those times, this is the best one as it tastes so close to the original. If your meringue doesn’t dry properly and becomes sticky, don’t worry, the cake will still be very tasty.

Credit: Marija Petrović

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 9 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 300 g caster sugar
• 210 g desiccated coconut

Chocolate cream

• 11 egg yolks
• 120 g caster sugar
• 300 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
• 300 g unsalted butter, chopped, softened

Chilling time 4 hours

You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead.

Instructions

To make the meringue, preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a large rectangular (38 cm × 32 cm) baking tin and line with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff. Gradually add the sugar and whisk until stiff and shiny. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the coconut, then pour into the prepared pan.

Reduce the oven to 150°C and bake for 20-30 minutes or until meringue is dry and light golden (baking time is approximate and depends on your oven; check and continue baking if necessary. You can reduce the oven to 130°C to prevent it over-browning). Remove the meringue from the oven and cool completely, then cut lengthwise into 3 equal pieces.

Meanwhile, to make the chocolate cream, cook the egg yolks and sugar in a double boiler over low heat until a thick cream forms (it’s done when you scrape the bottom of the pan with a spoon and a clear mark is visible). Add the chocolate and milk, and stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in the cooled chocolate cream.

To assemble the cake, layer the meringue pieces and chocolate cream, finishing with the chocolate cream. Spread the remaining chocolate cream around the sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight to firm, then serve.

Recipe from Palachinka by Marija Petrović, with photographs by Marija Petrović.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.