Dulche de Leche Hazelnut Meringue Chocolate Cake

Moist chocolate cake topped with mountain of beautiful light as air meringue cookies, crunchy hazelnuts and layered with Dulche de Leche. It just as good as it sounds. Every bite is light as air, crunchy and moist at the same time. The delicate shell of meringue cookies gives way to a fluffy tender melt-in-your-mouth center.      

Meringues:
3 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup superfine granulated sugar
Cake:
3 eggs
10 oz sour cream
10oz sugar
10oz all-purpose flour
2-3Tbsp. cocoa powder (depends on your cocoa powder)
1 tsp. baking soda
Filling:
1 stick butter, unsalted, room temperature
1 can Dulche de Leche (cooked condensed milk)
1/2 can Condensed milk
 
2 cups Hazelnuts, roasted and chopped
1/2 cups chocolate chips, I used semisweet
 
Making Meringues:
Preheat oven to 225 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on low-medium speed with the whisk attachment until the whites become foamy. Gradually add sugar. Once all the sugar has been added, add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to high, whisking until the meringue is firm and glossy, about 5-6 minutes.

Place meringue mixture into a piping bag with a medium-sized star attached. Pipe meringues onto the trays and place in the oven.

Bake for 1 hour then turn off heat and leave in the oven for couple hours to allow for slow cooling.

If you are planning to bake meringues ahead of time and assemble the cake later, store them in an airtight container as soon as they have cooled to keep them fresh and crispy.
 
Making the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line one 9 inch round baking pan with wax paper.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and sour cream.
In a separate bowl combine together flour, baking soda and cocoa powder, sift and add that in to the egg mixture, whisk just until combined. 
Pour into 9 inch round baking pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Let it cool.
Slightly cut  top of the cake (horizontally) ( so it will observe all the Dulche de Leche filling)

 
Making the ­­­­­filling:
Combine butter, dulche de leche and condensed milk; beat with electric mixer until creamy, about 5 minutes.

 
Assembling the cake:
Place cake  on a serving plate, spread thin layer of Dulche de Leche filling.
Holding each meringue by the peak dip the bases in Dulche de Leche filling so the bottom meringue is well coated.

Place on a cake building up a little hill. Sprinkle with hazelnuts between meringue layers.

Melt chocolate over a double-boiler or in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. If you find that your chocolate is too thick, you can add 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the chocolate.  This will give it a smoother consistency.
Drizzle melted chocolate over the cake and sprinkle with some more hazelnuts. Refrigerate for couple hours.

Enjoy!!!