Meringue Torte with Raspberry Cream

If you read my previous post on meringues, you know I am somewhat obsessed with them. So when some time ago my neighbor suggested going to a café serving some great meringue cakes, she didn’t have to repeat her invitation twice. And she was right: the raspberry version was absolutely delicious!

It was so delicious that I quickly wanted to recreate it in my own kitchen at home. I based it on my Meringue Cake with Strawberry Cream recipe but since I wanted to intensify the raspberry flavor, I added more fruit, both liquidized and torn into small pieces, and more mascarpone to prevent the cream from becoming too runny. I also found a way to stop the cream from spreading beyond the meringue: instead of putting the cream on the whole meringue base, I left approximately a 3-4cm free margin from the edge. This way even though the cream spread a bit, it didn’t ooze out beyond the meringue itself.

INGREDIENTS (for 8-10 portions):

Meringue:

6 egg whites,

300g caster sugar,

1 tsp white wine vinegar,

a pinch of salt.

Cream:

300g raspberries,

6 tbsp icing sugar,

250g mascarpone cheese,

150ml double cream.

Extra fruit for decoration.

METHOD:

1. Take two pieces of baking paper and draw 23cm - diameter circle on each one; then put them on two baking trays.
2. Pre-heat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees.
3. Put the egg whites to a big, clean and dry bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat them with an electric mixer.
4. When they are stiff, start adding sugar (while you still beat the egg whites): add one tablespoon at a time and carry on beating for 20-30 seconds before you add another tablespoon of sugar.
5. When you have used all the sugar, keep on whisking for another 2-3 minutes, then add the vinegar and beat for another minute.
6. Divide the beaten egg whites into 2 portions and carefully spread them on the drawn circles, put both baking trays to the hot oven.
7. After 5 minutes decrease the temperature to 140 Celsius degrees and bake for 90 minutes; afterwards turn off the oven, open its doors slightly and keep it open for 5 minutes. Then close the door and keep the meringues in the oven for a few hours or overnight.
8. Liquidize approx. two thirds of the raspberries, press them through a fine sieve, add the sugar and stir till the sugar dissolves.
9. Put the mascarpone to a bowl, beat with the electric mixer on low speed and add the liquidized raspberries.
10. Whisk the double cream till stiff and gently stir with the mascarpone and raspberry mix till combined.
11. Tear the rest of the raspberries into smaller pieces, add to the cream and gently stir.
12. Put one meringue disc (the worse looking one) on a serving plate, spread three quarters of the raspberry cream on it, leaving a 3-4cm margin around the edges without the cream. Place the second meringue carefully on top, spread the rest of the cream on top and decorate with fruit.
13. Keep refrigerated till ready to be served.