Strawberry meringue cake

A light strawberry meringue cake with… no cream at all, so no added fat. We bake a sponge, layer it twice with strawberry filling (which soaks beautifully into the sponge), then finish the whole cake with meringue and flaked almonds. This strawberry and meringue cake is a little unconventional, but wonderfully moist and sweet… essentially a sponge with strawberries and meringue :).

Ingredients for the sponge:

• 4 large eggs
• a pinch of salt
• ⅔ cup caster sugar
• ½ cup plain flour
• 3 tablespoons potato starch (or cornflour)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Whisk the eggs, salt and sugar for several minutes until very light, thick and fluffy – the mixture should triple in volume and fall in ribbons from the whisk. Sift the flour and starch directly into the mixture and gently fold in with a spatula.

Line the base of a 25 cm springform tin with baking parchment (do not grease the sides). Transfer the batter and level.

Bake at 160–170°C for about 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and drop the tin from a height of about 30 cm onto a surface (this helps prevent shrinking). Leave to cool completely, then slice into 3 layers.

Ingredients for the strawberry filling:

• 650 g strawberries
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons potato starch
• Set aside 7 strawberries for decoration. Hull and slice the rest.

Place one quarter of the strawberries in a saucepan with the sugar. Heat, bring to the boil, then blend into a purée. Mix the lemon juice with the starch and add to the purée. Bring to the boil and cook for about 1 minute until thickened. Remove from the heat, add the remaining sliced strawberries and stir to combine.

Ingredients for soaking:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water

Mix together.

Ingredients for the meringue:

• 6 large egg whites (240 g)
• 250 g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 g flaked almonds

Toast the almonds lightly in a dry pan and leave to cool.

Place the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Whisk briefly, then set over a pan of gently simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water). Continue whisking until the mixture reaches about 70°C and becomes thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla at the end.

Assembly:

Layer the sponge with the strawberry mixture. The top layer can be lightly soaked with the lemon mixture (the lower layers will absorb moisture from the fruit). Cover the entire cake – top and sides – with meringue, smoothing it with a spatula. Sprinkle the sides with flaked almonds.

Place in an oven preheated to 200°C and bake for 3 – 4 minutes until the meringue lightly browns (watch carefully – it colours quickly). Remove, cool and decorate with the reserved strawberries. No need to refrigerate (unless in very warm weather).

Enjoy!

Recipe source – Recipeland, adapted.