Whip room temperature egg whites to a light foam. Gradually add sugar and whip to stiff but not too dense peaks.
Separately mix coarsely chopped roasted hazelnuts with 50g of sugar, vanilla sugar, flour, and 5g of cornstarch.
Carefully fold the dry mixture into the egg whites in 2 batches using a spatula, mixing from bottom to top.
Distribute the meringue mixture evenly into two 15-16 cm round molds.
Bake at 125-130°C in convection mode for approximately 2 hours. Remove from molds and cool completely.
For the cranberry filling, mix cranberries with 45g of sugar, lemon juice, 6g of cornstarch, and water. Cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. (Optionally blend with a blender).
For the Charlotte cream base, heat egg yolks, milk, and 120g of sugar until thickened, without boiling. Cover with plastic wrap in contact and let it cool completely.
Separately whip the soft butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the cooled custard base, whipping after each addition. Add vanilla extract and cognac, then mix again.
Separate a little more than 1/3 of the cream and mix it with cocoa powder. (Save a tiny bit of white cream if you are making the leaf decor later).
To assemble, place the first cake layer on a stand. Spread half of the white cream, pipe or spread the cranberry filling, spread the second half of the white cream, and place the second cake layer on top. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate cream.
Coat the sides and top edges with crushed roasted hazelnuts. Chill the cake, preferably overnight. For decoration, use the reserved white cream mixed with matcha powder to create a chestnut leaf design using a stencil.
Cook it hands-free.
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