How to make a divine meringue cake with apple, cinnamon and blackberries
We still have to wait a little while for the new season of Heel Holland Bakt with new clumsy home bakers. In the meantime, we’ll simply keep baking with the new Heel Holland Bakt Appeltaart baking book. The baking book is packed with delicious recipes featuring apples (and pears!), such as this divine meringue cake with apple, to bake at home.
Who doesn’t love meringue cake? This one has a soft layer of cake as its base, but it’s also incredibly delicious without the base. Want to make it even easier? Buy ready-made meringues and make an Eton Mess with crumbled meringue, apple, blackberries and the mascarpone cream from the recipe below. Spoon it into a cool coupe and you’re done!
How to make the meringue cake
1. MAKE THE MERINGUE
- Preheat the oven to 100 °C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and draw two circles measuring 20 cm in diameter on it. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites in a completely clean bowl with completely clean beaters using a hand mixer, or in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add the granulated sugar one spoonful at a time and continue beating until the sugar crystals have completely dissolved. Divide the meringue between the circles on the baking paper and bake them in the centre of the oven for approximately 2 hours until crisp and fully cooked. Turn off the oven and leave them to cool in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven.
2. LINE THE SPRINGFORM TIN
- Increase the oven temperature to 175 °C. Line the base of the springform tin with baking paper and grease the sides.
3. MAKE THE CAKE
- For the cake batter, beat the granulated sugar and butter with the hand mixer for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on the lowest setting until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract. Sift the flour and salt over the batter and fold them in as lightly as possible. Spoon the batter into the springform tin and bake the cake in the centre of the oven for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. The cake is done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out dry and clean. Leave the cake to cool completely.
4. FRUIT FILLING
- Once the cake layers have cooled, quarter the apples, remove the cores, cut them into thin wedges without peeling them and place them in a bowl. Juice the lemon and pour the juice over the apple. Sprinkle with the cinnamon. Heat the granulated sugar and butter in a non-stick frying pan. Add the apple and allow it to caramelise lightly over medium heat. Leave to cool slightly and mix in half of the blackberries.
5. MAKE THE MASCARPONE FILLING
- Loosen the mascarpone and mix in the vanilla extract, yoghurt, icing sugar and the remaining blackberries.
6. ASSEMBLE
- Place the cake layer on a plate and spread one third of the mascarpone mixture and apple over it. Place a meringue circle on top, followed by another third of the mascarpone mixture and apple, and repeat for a third layer. Serve the cake immediately.
Baking tip: To check whether the meringue has been whisked enough, take a little between your thumb and forefinger and rub them together. If you can still feel the sugar crystals, continue beating for a little while longer. If the egg-white foam is completely smooth, you’re done. A smooth meringue produces a beautifully smooth final result. If there are still sugar crystals in it, they can cause syrup-like cracks in the baked meringue.
Title: Heel Holland Bakt Appeltaart
Price: €22,50
Publisher: Kosmos
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