A meringue cake with strawberries is the perfect dessert for any occasion. Crunchy meringue, juicy fruits, and a mascarpone cheese-based cream are a combination that has stolen many hearts.
Ingredients
For the Meringue
- Egg whites: 6 (large eggs)
- Sugar: 300 g
- Brown sugar: 50 g
- White wine vinegar: 1 teaspoon
- Potato starch: 1 teaspoon
- Salt: a pinch
For the Cream
- Heavy cream (36% fat content): 400 ml
- Mascarpone cheese: 500 g
- Powdered sugar: 5-6 tablespoons
For the Assembly
- Fresh strawberries: 400 g
- Additional fresh strawberries: 500 g
- Lemon juice: 1/2 piece
- Powdered sugar: 3-4 tablespoons
- Powdered sugar: for dusting
Preparation
- Preparing the Meringue:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Prepare two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Draw two circles with a diameter of 20 cm on the parchment paper using a plate or a round cake pan. In a bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gradually add white and brown sugar, continuously beating. Finally, when the meringue is stiff, add the potato starch and vinegar.
- Spread the meringue onto the drawn circles. Place in the oven for 5 minutes. After this time, reduce the temperature to 130 degrees Celsius and dry the meringues for 120-130 minutes. The meringues should be crispy on the outside while remaining moist on the bottom, sides, and in the center.
- It’s best to bake the meringues a day in advance. After turning off the oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar and let the meringues cool down completely.
- Preparing the Cream:
- Wash and remove the stems from half a kilogram of strawberries, then cut them into smaller pieces. Set the strawberries aside.
- Mix the mascarpone cheese. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, adding powdered sugar towards the end of beating. Add the whipped cream to the mascarpone cheese and gently mix. Finally, add the chopped strawberries to the cream and gently mix. Store the cream in the refrigerator.
- Preparing the Strawberry Sauce:
- Wash, remove the stems, and dice 250 g of strawberries. Transfer the strawberries to a saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Let it cool down. Finally, blend into a smooth sauce.
- Assembling the Strawberry Meringue Cake:
- Place one of the meringue discs on a cake stand, spread half of the cream on top, drizzle with sauce, and cover with the second meringue disc. Spread the remaining cream on top, drizzle with the remaining sauce, and arrange the remaining fresh strawberries on top. Optionally, dust the cake with powdered sugar.
- Store the cake in the refrigerator.
