Preheat the oven to 350 F. Use cooking spray to give an 8 or 9” cake pan (3” deep, this will rise) a thin coating of oil. Press a sheet of parchment paper into it and use metal clips to hold the paper in place. It doesn’t have to look perfect, the creases in the paper will give a lovely rustic look to the cake.

Set a glass bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and add the chocolate. Stir it as it melts and once it’s almost fully melted add the butter. Stir until you have a smooth ‘ganache’.

Using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the four egg whites until they are frothy. With the mixer on, slowly pour in the sugar, stopping the pour to fully incorporate the sugar before continuing. Continue whipping until you have medium-stiff peaks that hold shape – the ‘meringue’ will be smooth and white but not fully stiff.

Using a rubber spatula, very gently fold a large spoonful of the meringue into the chocolate mixture until it’s mostly – but not fully – combined. Repeat with another spoonful. (This is a good point to evaluate how red you want the cake – if it’s not quite there, add some more gel food coloring). Then, carefully add the rest to and fold it in until the batter is almost fully blended.

Gently pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Don’t tap it on the counter or it will lose those precious air bubbles. Bake the cake for 35-45 (40 mins max for a 9″ pan, 50 max for an 8″) minutes. It will rise and crack in the oven. When you remove it it will be quite puffy and as it cools it will fall and cave into itself with large cracks.

Once the cake is completely cool, use the parchment to lift it out of the pan. To move the cake to a plate, slide a wide offset spatula underneath and lift.

To make the frosted cranberries: Prepare a cookie sheet with a cooling rack. Add the cranberries to a large bowl (you could also use a cake pan here). In a pot, boil together ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the syrup over the cranberries and toss to cover them with the syrup, let them sit in the syrup for 5 minutes or so so that the syrup can seep in. With a slotted spoon, remove them and set them on the cooling rack (the cookie sheet will catch the drips) for about 1 hour. Toss them in the extra sugar and set them on a plate to dry.

To make the cream cheese whipped cream: beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Slice open a vanilla bean with a paring knife and scrape the seeds into the cream cheese, Add the sugar and heavy cream and either with a whisk or using a hand mixer, beat until you have firm-ish peaks (don’t go beyond this point or you risk breaking it). Dollop the whipped cream into the center of the cooled cake. Top with cranberries and shards of chocolate, if desired.