Raspberry cloud cake

The perfect summer cake. Raspberry Cloud Cake features a delicate shortbread base, plenty of raspberries set in raspberry jelly, luscious cream and a crunchy almond meringue on top. This recipe was sent to me by Aleksandra (thank you so much!). The original cake reminded me of the classic Pani Walewska — two layers of shortbread baked with meringue, filled with jam and cream. Rather than copying the recipe, I decided to make a few changes; the most important was baking the meringue as a separate layer. Thanks to this, the meringue stays wonderfully light and fluffy over the cream. This cake can be made all year round — frozen raspberries work perfectly well.

Note: The meringue is best baked the day before and left in the switched-off oven until the next day. It can also be stored at room temperature, loosely covered with a kitchen towel. The shortbread base can be prepared in advance and even frozen.

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:

• 3 egg yolks (from large eggs)
• 30 g icing sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 g plain flour
• 100 g butter, cubed

All ingredients should be chilled.

In a bowl, add sifted plain flour and butter. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add icing sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract and baking powder, then knead very gently until the ingredients are combined and almost smooth (alternatively, you can use a food processor). Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge for 60 minutes.

Prepare a rectangular baking tin measuring 23 × 33 cm. Grease it with butter and line with baking paper.

After removing the dough from the fridge, roll out the pastry and place it in the baking tin. Prick it with a fork in several places and put it back in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 190-200°C for 15–20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

Ingredients for the raspberry jelly:

• 600 g raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 raspberry jelly packets (each for 500 ml of water)
• 1 litre boiling water

Dissolve the three raspberry jelly packets in 1 litre of boiling water. Leave to cool, then mix with the raspberries. Chill in the fridge until the jelly starts to set slightly. Spread the jelly evenly over the shortcrust pastry, level the surface and refrigerate until fully set.

Ingredients for the vanilla cream:

• 500 ml whipping cream, chilled
• 250 g mascarpone cheese, chilled
• 3 Tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and whip until stiff peaks form.

Ingredients for the almond meringue:

• 3 egg whites, at room temperature
• 150 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp potato starch
• 40-50 g flaked almonds

Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl. Whisk the egg whites with a mixer until they form stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until fully incorporated and the meringue looks glossy. Finally, add the potato starch and whisk briefly to combine.

Prepare a rectangular baking tin measuring 23 × 33 cm and turn it upside down. Grease it with butter, line it with baking paper, and spread the mixture evenly. Sprinkle with almond flakes.

Bake at 140°C for about 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely inside.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator, spread the vanilla cream over the jelly, and level the surface. Place the cooled meringue layer on top. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Cut and serve.

The raspberry cloud cake can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.

Enjoy!