Rum-Cacao Small Cakes with Limoncello Meringue

The soft, slightly runny rum cakes are topped with a tangy lemon meringue. It's ready under 20 minutes, so it's perfect for unexpected guests. It fills 6 muffin tins.

  • 80 g margarine
  • 1 egg
  • 6 g baking powder
  • 8 g Bourbon vanilla sugar
  • 45 g cane sugar
  • 4 tsp cacao powder
  • 70 g white spelt flour
  • 1 tsp dark rum
  • few drops of rum aroma
  • 1/2 dl lactose-free milk
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 cl Limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur)

You'll need a 6-cup silicone muffin pan for this, as that's the easiest to handle. You'll also need an electric hand mixer, as that is the easiest way to beat the egg white into a meringue.

You'll make the batter quite quickly, so start by warming the oven to 428 F.

Microwave the margarine for 40 seconds to make it liquid.

Meanwhile, take a deep bowl, and break the egg into it. Beat the egg to a foamy cream by hand. Mix the margarine into the bowl, and add the baking powder, vanilla sugar, rum, and the aroma.

Take out a spatula, preferably a silicon one, as that doesn't stick as much. Slowly fold the cacao powder in, then the sugar, the pinch of salt, and finally the flour. Mix them all together, and gradually add the milk. Don't make it too watery. It should be like a muffin mixture.

Pour the mixture into the cups. It will rise a bit, but not too much. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Separate the egg. The yolk just put into the fridge, and you can add it into an omelette for your breakfast. Add a little bit of salt to the egg whites, and start beating it into stiff peaks. However, just before it's ready, carefully add the Limoncello.

By this time, the 10 minutes have passed. The pastry should be half-baked, with a runny middle. You can simply put the meringue on top with a spoon, or use a pastry bag, if you want to make it pretty. Return to the oven for 8 more minutes, to bake the meringues. The little cakes should be mostly baked, but with a slightly runny middle. You can easily have two of these tasty treats at a time.

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