Praline Meringue Cake With Strawberries Recipes

STRAWBERRY MERINGUE CAKE (MOSTACHON)

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch nonstick springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the sugar slowly, then the vanilla, baking powder, and salt while beating, about 2 more minutes. Turn the power off and fold in the walnuts and Maria crackers. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
• For the frosting: In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form and the mixture is smooth.
• To assemble: Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the springform. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting all over the cake. Garnish with the strawberries and serve.

MERINGUE CAKE WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• The night before serving, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
• Line a lipped cookie sheet (approximately 12 by 18 inches) with parchment paper. Trace two side-by-side rectangles - about 5 inches by 12 or 13 inches - on the paper. Crumple the paper, then smooth it out again and line the bottom of the pan.
• Whisk together confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until they turn from foamy to white and beaters just start to leave a trail. On low speed, add sugar mixture, a heaping tablespoon at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat to the consistency of marshmallow cream, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Just before forming meringues, flick water onto parchment with fingertips. Divide meringue in half, spooning two or three mounds down each traced rectangle. Use a rubber spatula, or a cake decorator's metal offset spatula, to fill in and even out rectangles.
• Set meringues in oven, close door and turn oven off (but leave oven light on). Let meringues dry overnight. Remove, then carefully set a wire rack or cookie sheet over meringues. Invert; peel off parchment and turn right side up. (It's OK if edges chip.) Wrap in foil and set aside until ready to proceed.
• No more than two hours before serving, whip cream to soft peaks, beating in remaining sugar and the vanilla. Set one meringue on a platter. Spread with half the cream and sprinkle on half the berries. Repeat with remaining meringue, cream and berries. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to serve.

PRALINE MERINGUE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1, and line two flat baking sheets with baking parchment. Whizz about two-thirds of the toasted almonds in a food processor until chopped. Don't let them start to look greasy or clump together - they should still be in pieces rather than ground. Roughly chop the remaining third with a knife.
• Stir the sugars together. Using an electric hand whisk, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff, then add the sugar in three batches, beating the mixture back to stiff after each addition. Add the cornflour and vinegar, and keep going until the meringue mixture is glossy and so stiff that the beaters begin to feel heavy when stirring - this can take up to 5 mins.
• Quickly fold in all of the finely chopped nuts and most of the roughly chopped with a spatula, then divide the mixture between the two baking sheets. Spread both into 20cm circles, then scatter the remaining chopped nuts over. Bake for 1 hr, then turn the oven off and leave the meringues inside to cool for at least 1 hr. Leave the oven door closed (this will help to prevent them cracking). Will keep overnight in an airtight container, or freeze, wrapped in cling film, for up to 1 month.
• For the strawberry sauce, purée 600g of the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Press through a sieve to remove the seeds, then sweeten with 2 tbsp of the icing sugar. Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Sieve the remaining icing sugar into the double cream, whip until it just holds its shape, then carefully swirl through two-thirds of the sauce.
• To serve, slide one of the meringues off its baking parchment onto a serving plate, then spread over half the cream. Place the second meringue on top, pile over the rest of the cream and top with the remaining strawberries. Dust with a little more icing sugar if you like, and serve the leftover strawberry sauce alongside.