Toast the ground almonds lightly in a pan. Whisk the egg white with the castor sugar until it looks like snow and fold the icing sugar and the almonds carefully into the mousse.

Spread three 1 inch thick layers with a diameter of 23 cm on a sheet of baking paper. Place the baking paper onto a preheated baking tray and let it dry in the oven for at least six hours at 100 °C (or overnight at 80°C). Break or crumble one of the layers into small to medium-sized pieces and set them aside.

In a pan at a low temperature, melt the sugar until it has browned and started to caramelize. Add 100g ground almonds and gently but continuously move the almonds from side to side until they are golden yellow. Place the caramelized almonds on baking paper and leave to cool. Then crush them with a rolling pin.

Whisk 600 ml of vanilla sugar-sweetened cream and carefully add the chocolate shavings, the rum and finally the meringue crumbs.

To build your cake, place one of the remaining meringue layers in a cake ring and spread half of the filling over the layer. Keep doing this with the second meringue layer and the remaining filling and freeze the cake when its done.

Remove the cake ring, spread the cake on all sides with white cream and sprinkle the almond brittle and the chocolate shavings over the top.

Finally put the cake back into the freezer. Remove it from the freezer approximately  half an hour before serving to soften slightly. Cut it with a long serrated knife. Warm the knife by placing the blade in a glass of hot water. Dry off any excess water before cutting the cake. You may need to re-dip the knife to rewarm it after cutting several slices.

This text was written by Miriam Schneider, a member of Com Berlin’s English class. Check back soon to see more texts from members of the class.