Meringue layer cake
Meringue is sugar suspended in egg white, and almost everything that can go wrong comes down to fat or moisture: a greasy bowl, a humid day, undissolved sugar. The discs are not baked but dried for two hours at low heat — and must cool in the switched-off oven so they crack as little as possible.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Whipping the meringue 20 min
- Drying the discs 120 min
- Cooling in the oven 90 min
- Whipped cream 15 min
- Assembling 20 min
Step by step
0 / 7 donePrepare a spotlessly clean bowl
Wipe the bowl and whisk with kitchen paper dampened with vinegar and dry them. A trace of fat or yolk makes whipping impossible — the most common cause of failed meringue. Use metal or glass, never plastic.
Ingredients: 240 g egg whites · 480 g sugar · 2 tsp potato starch · 1 tsp vinegar · 1 pinch salt
TipSeparate each white into a small bowl first. One broken yolk on the eighth egg ruins the entire batch.
Whip and add sugar a spoon at a time
Whip the whites with salt at medium speed to soft peaks, then add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, every 15 seconds. The whole process takes 12–15 minutes. Adding it faster leaves undissolved sugar that weeps out as syrup in the oven.
Ingredients: 240 g egg whites · 480 g sugar · 2 tsp potato starch · 1 tsp vinegar · 1 pinch salt
TipRub a drop between your fingers: if you feel grains, keep whipping. It should be completely smooth.
A stiff upright peak that does not bend.Fold in starch and vinegar
Finally fold in the starch and vinegar with a spatula. Vinegar stabilises the protein and starch binds moisture — together they make the meringue crisp outside but slightly chewy inside, as in a pavlova.
Ingredients: 240 g egg whites · 480 g sugar · 2 tsp potato starch · 1 tsp vinegar · 1 pinch salt
Spread two even discs
Draw two 22 cm circles on parchment and flip the paper over. Spread the meringue into the circles, levelling the tops. Keep them even in thickness — thin spots scorch before thick ones dry.
Ingredients: 240 g egg whites · 480 g sugar · 2 tsp potato starch · 1 tsp vinegar · 1 pinch salt
Even thickness across the whole surface of each disc.Dry for two hours at 110°C
Bake at 110°C for 2 hours. This is not baking but drying — the meringue should stay white. If it starts to colour, the temperature is too high; drop to 100°C and wedge the door open with a wooden spoon.
Ingredients: 240 g egg whites · 480 g sugar · 2 tsp potato starch · 1 tsp vinegar · 1 pinch salt
Cool in the switched-off oven
Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside for 90 minutes with the door ajar. A sudden temperature change causes cracks. A finished disc lifts off the paper without resistance.
Ingredients: 240 g egg whites · 480 g sugar · 2 tsp potato starch · 1 tsp vinegar · 1 pinch salt
Whip the cream and assemble at the last moment
Whip the cold cream with mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. Layer the discs with cream and fruit. Assemble no more than 2 hours before serving and keep the cake in the fridge until then — moisture from the cream softens the meringue by the minute.
Ingredients: 600 ml whipping cream (36%) · 250 g mascarpone · 60 g icing sugar · 2 tsp vanilla extract · 250 g raspberries · 200 g blueberries · 250 g strawberries
TipMascarpone stabilises the cream, so it weeps more slowly and the meringue softens later. Do not overwhip — mascarpone cream turns grainy quickly.
Cream and fruit go onto the disc only just before serving.
Before you start
Discs ahead of time
Dried meringue discs keep a week in an airtight container somewhere dry. The best cake for splitting the work over two days.
Do not bake on a rainy day
Meringue absorbs moisture from the air. On a very humid, rainy day the discs may stay tacky however long you dry them.
Cracked discs
Cracks usually mean cooling too fast. They do no harm to the flavour — cover them with cream or assemble the cake from pieces as a pavlova.
