spanish meringue cake

8/9/2019 Spanish Meringue Cake

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/spanish-meringue-cake 1/6

ALL CAKES CONSIDERED



Spanish Meringue Cake

YOU’ll NEED

A 9-inch springform panThe whisk attachment for your mixer

FOR ThE CAkE

1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 cup buttermilk1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room

temperature11/4 cups light brown sugar 21/4 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1 large egg3 large egg yolks1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup walnuts, chopped

FOR ThE MERINGUE

3 large egg whites (see Tips)1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar 3/4 cup light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Tips: You’re making meringue, whichmeans you’re whipping the livingbejesus out of egg whites. It is crucialto your operations that your eggs beROOM TEMPERATURE and that your whisk and mixing bowl be clean andperfectly dry.

Notice you need 3 egg yolks for the cake and 3 egg whites for themeringue. So you’ll need to separate3 eggs. Use 3 bowls and your clean,

dry hands (see instructions on page81) OR a fancy-pants egg separator to do this.

1.Because of the meringue topping, your usual “center a rack”does not apply. You’ll want toposition the rack in the lower third of your oven and preheatto 325 degrees F.



TO MAkE ThE CAkE

2.Prepare your springform pan.You’ll want to use a springformbecause it’s easier to “unmold”the cake without messing up themeringue topping.3.In a small bowl, stir the bakingsoda into the buttermilk and setaside.4.In your mixer, using your regular paddle or beaters, cream thebutter on medium speed, thengradually add the brown sugar,about 1 tablespoon at a time,mixing well. This should take 6 to8 minutes. Don’t forget to stop

and scrape down the sides of the bowl.5.In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, andspices. Set aside.6.Return to your fully creamedmixture and add the whole egg.Beat for 1 minute at mediumspeed. Add the egg yolks, oneat a time, at 30-second intervals.Scrape the sides of the bowl

occasionally. Beat for 1 minutebefore beating in the vanillaextract.7.Reduce the mixer speed to low,and add a third of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilkand baking soda combo alternately, mixing until just incorporated. Repeat until all the flour mixture and buttermilk comboare just blended into the batter.Scrape down the sides of the bowland mix for 10 seconds more.8.Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface

with the back of a tablespoon.Sprinkle the chopped walnutsover the top and set aside.TO MAKE ThE MERINguE

9.Replace the paddle with thewhisk attachment.Clean and dry your mixing bowl,OR use an extra bowl that works



with your mixer.

10.Beat the egg whites on mediumspeed until frothy.

11.Add the cream of tartar andincrease the mixer speed tomedium-high. Beat to firm peaks.12.Reduce the mixer to mediumspeed and add the brown sugar,2 tablespoons at a time, beatinguntil just blended. Add the spicesand mix briefly. You should nowhave stiff peaks; be careful not tobeat the meringue too much.13.

Using a spatula, gently moundthe meringue on top of the batter in the cake pan. Use the back of a tablespoon to spread out themeringue evenly.14.Center the pan on the rack (which,you remember, is in the lower thirdof the oven) and bake for 40 to45 minutes, or until the cakebegins to pull away from thesides of the pan and tests done.You may get a little meringue

“cling” on your cake tester—ignore it. You’re looking for thetelltale wet batter cling, whichby now, veteran of oh-so-manycakes, you know so well.15.Allow the cake to cool in thepan, then remove the springformsides.Now, Carole Walter adds thisinformation: meringue-topped cakeswill become soggy if air does notcirculate around them. I made this

cake the day before I took it intowork. Instead of locking it tightly inmy cake carry overnight, I proppedthe carry’s lid up about 1/2 inch fromthe bottom, and ATC did not suffer asoggy cake.

BEATINg Egg WhITES (AND SOMEEgg WhITE TERMINOLOgy)



Frothy means like the head on anice, tall glass of Guinness beer. Thisis denser than the “frothy” you getwhen you blow air through a straw ina glass of milk. The mixture will havebubbles and will be cloudy insteadof clear. This is when salt or cream of tartar is added.

The next stage of beaten egg whites,soft peak, is so named because apeak forms when you lift the whiskout of the whites, then gracefullysinks back into the rest of whites. Softpeak stage is denser than “frothy”and it’s the stage when sugar isusually added.

At the firm peak stage, that same “liftthe whisk” maneuver leaves behind

firm peaks that are well defined anddon’t sink back down. All of the eggwhites are shiny and moist looking.



Stiff peak stage is a step beyond firmpeak: the egg whites are very stiff and the meringue has gone beyondshiny to glossy. This stage happenswhen sugar has been added to thefirm peak stage.

Overbeating past this stage will takeyou to the “flaccid peak” stage, whichmeans it’s time to dry your eyes,mend your heart, get new eggs, andstart over.

That’s your little primer on eggwhites.

spanish meringue cake

Documents