I partly changed my mind about meringue (still not a big fan of the dry version) after I tried a slice of so called Ice Cream Cake that had this type of soft and airy meringue as a base. The cake remained our household signature birthday bake for a very long time, until we all got fed up with it for which I was entirely grateful mainly because of the time it used to take me to slow bake the meringue.

Fast forward a few years I stumbled upon Martha Stewart recipe for the same type of the meringue, but ever so cleverly baked in Bain Marie in a fraction of the time that I was used to. The print out of the recipe was waiting to be tested  for awhile and then got forgotten - until I saw this month #Bundtbakers theme set up by Tanya from a lovely and lively blog DessertStalking - Chocolate!! The whole idea of baking meringue just came back to me and I saw the bundt baked meringue floating in chocolate custard! Things happen for reason!

 suitable for a 10 cup bundt cake pan

 For the meringue:

• 9 large egg whites, room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Coarse salt
• 225 g caster  sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Brush a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with oil.
• Bring a kettle of water to boil. Whisk egg whites, cream of tartar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Whisk in caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, gradually increasing speed to high. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and whisk in vanilla.
• Transfer meringue to pan, pressing to remove air pockets. Set Bundt pan in a roasting pan and carefully pour boiling water into roasting pan to reach about 5 cm up sides of Bundt pan. Bake until meringue is puffed and lightly browned, about 20 -25 minutes. Transfer Bundt pan to a wire rack. Let cool.