This cake is baked in two stages- first we bake the layer of whisked sponge in a tray. Then we cover it with meringue (which I’ve swirled with food colouring for decoration here) and bake again so that it’s crisp outside and marshmallowy inside. Once the cake cools, we top it with a lovely mixture of yogurt and whipped cream and then add fresh berries. You can also add other toppings like flaked coconut, chopped nuts etc, depending on what flavours you’re going for.
You know why I love the layering in this recipe so much? It gives you OPTIONS!
- This is a total make-it-your-own recipe: you just need to stick to the basic cake and meringue recipes but because there are 4 super simple components to the recipe, there is a HUGE amount you can change with this recipe
- The cake: I like to keep it simple with vanilla. But you can replace 2 tbsp of the flour with cocoa powder for a chocolate cake, add extracts (almond is super good), fruit zest (HELLO LEMON), poppy seeds, some espresso powder dissolved in a little hot water, add spices (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom…). Whatever!
- The meringue: I swirled food colouring into mine to keep it simple but pretty – you could also fold in powdered, freeze dried fruit, sprinkle on cacao nibs or chopped nuts, again add cocoa or spices. Or just leave it plain!
- The toppings: I add a creamy component (sometimes whipped cream, or sometimes just greek yogurt) you could also use creme fraiche, coconut cream or serve it with ice cream! 😉 You can also swirl whatever you want into that. Use fruity yogurt, or mix in compote, spices, cocoa, extracts, coffee…
- Then I layer on fruits: I use berries during the summer, but I can totally imagine using passion fruit, pineapple and mango, or sliced apples or pears, maybe even supremed blood oranges
- Other toppings: I also garnished mine with flaked coconut (that I finally found at Whole Foods, WOOH), but you could go for flaked almonds, chopped pistachios, chocolate chips, citrus zest, lavendar, candied ginger.
Serving it: I usually just leave it as a huge sheet cake, layered up and just cut it into squares/diamonds/rectangles and serve it like that, as needed. But for the aesthetics this time (what else would I do it for tbh) I used a large pastry ring to cut out circles, then layered them individually. The individual circles are good for if you want to make it look fancier (plus, as the chef, you get to eat all of the edge scraps!!) but the square way is so much easier and quicker.
Notes:
– Don’t be intimidated by the recipe, it’s super easy. Most of the ingredients are repeated, and the methods are pretty basic
– The meringue-topped cake, once baked, can be wrapped up in plastic wrap and kept at room temp. for about 3 days before you need to serve it up (just don’t layer on the toppings until you’re ready to serve the cake or else it goes soggy)
– You have free reign with variations! Check the list above to see the my tips/ideas (I’ve included some of them in the recipe below)
– You totally don’t have to put the colour swirl into the meringue.
Berry Meringue Sponge Cakes
Ingredients
For the cake layer:
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 cup (120g) cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the meringue layer;
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- red/pink food colouring (optional)
For the toppings:
- Fruits: I used raspberries blueberries and strawberries. You can use any fruits you want!
- Other: I sprinkled on some flaked coconut but you could also use flaked almonds, chopped pecans or pistachios
- 120 ml double cream (heavy cream), whipped, with 120ml Greek yogurt + 1/2 tsp vanilla paste folded in
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C), grease a large rimmed cookie sheet, line with baking paper, then grease the paper.
- Whisk the egg whites, gradually adding in half the sugar until you get stiff peaks.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and rest of the sugar until thick and pale.
- Add the egg whites and rest of the cake ingredients to the bowl with the egg yolks and fold together gently until fully combined.1 cup (120g) cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch of salt
- Pour into the lined baking sheet, spread out evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the meringue:
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the sugar until you get stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla extract.3 egg whites, 3/4 cup (150g) sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Spread onto the cooked cake evenly. To add a swirl of colour, dip the end of a chopstick into the food colouring and swirl into the meringue. Repeat the dipping and swirling until you’re happy with the pattern.red/pink food colouring
- Turn the oven down to 230 F (110 C) and bake for an hour until the meringue is dry and crisp on the outside.
- Let it cool.
- Once ready to serve either layer on the toppings, then cut into squares/diamonds/rectangles and serve, or use a pastry ring or cookie cutter to cut out circles and then layer them up individually.
Congratulations!! I just voted for you 🙂
thanks so much Mel!! HUGS 🙂 x
That is awesome!! Congratulations!! I just voted for you.
THANKS ANGIE! 😀 x
Congratulations – I’m heading off to vote for you right now. You have no idea how talented you are for only 17, you really deserve it!
thank you thank youuu! 😀 x
SO MUCH CONGRATS, girly! You deserve it. 🙂 And I’m convincing myself that I deserve to make and eat these cakes, even though I’ve already had waaaaayyy too much sugar for today. Whatevs. WORTH IT.
thanks stephanie!!!!! 😀
haha, there’s always an excuse for cake 😉
Congratulations!!! I’m so happy for you to get to this point at only 17. You’re amazing! I’m off to vote for you now.
aww thanks so much Karen! 🙂 x
Hahaha you are amazing. This is indeed a GORGEOUS post (I felt the exact same way about taking 200 photos and falling in love with twenty too many of them)–I think I these on IG and just wanted to nom them! Also: this was so.entertaining. I have the same problem with that stupid HAHAHAHAHA autocorrect problem–like really? Stop. It’s so embarrassing when I don’t catch it in time before pressing send and then I have to be like ‘wait you’re not actually that funny/I’m not actually manic.’
Anyhoo. CONGRATS ON THE AWARD OMG!!! SO EXCITING. GOING TO VOTE FOR YOU. You’re up against some amazing bloggers; so exciting to know that you’re one of them!
hahaha thanks Erika! it’s so annoying isn’t it!?
THANK YOU!!!! 😀 oh god i know, I seriously can’t compete with them, but I’m trying.. :/
Congratulations!!! I voted for you!!! 😀 So many lovely photos of the Berry Merinque Cakes, they look delicious!! And can I tell you that I know how you feel and I am completely 100% the same way in the fact that my whole face turns bright red (and I have red hair, which doesn’t help with the look) and have no choice but to do an impression of a tomato until I’m able to relax. It’s horrible and there should definitely be some kind of medicine to fix it. Congratulations again, I HOPE you WIN because you do deserve it!! And I Love your nail polish, my favorite color! 😀
thanks so much Kim :)))
there totally should be, it’s so embarrasinggggg :/
YAY i love purple too! x
I voted for you!!! I want you to win!!! You are awesome!!!!!!!
thanks so much Elizabeth!
hahahahahahahhahhahahahhah basic NOT acidic, A level chem, Oh Izy you crack me up every time!!
Lovely recipe btw and phenomenal achievement, i take my hat off to you hun x x x
hahahaha thank you very much 😉 to much chem evidently…
Thanks so much Ibbs 🙂 x
Wow, congrats!! Anyone can tell from the quality of each post that you put a lot of effort and love into all your recipes. You deserve it, best of luck!
Thanks so much Irina! 🙂 x
Chucking in my votes right now. Super congrats! And yay for purple nails! 😀
WOOH thanks Karen!! :))
haha I know! I’ve had the same nail polish on for about a week now, I need to paint them again today 😀 x
CONGRATULATIONS!! 100% heading over to vote for you now, so so well done.
thanks so much!!!! 😀 x
Omg! You have made me laugh sooo hard! I turn beet red too when placed in high pressure situations, it sucks because you can feel it happening and then I always try to calm myself down, and it just makes it worse because now I’ve stopped paying attention to what’s going on :/ check out my blog! I really love yours!
I knooooowwww!! Its so terrible when you can feel it!
Thank you! Will do 😉 x
Love your blog Izy. I have just voted for you, I really hope you win. All the best wishes from Australia!
thanks so much!!!! 🙂 x
Yaaaayyy!! SO psyched to see you in the Baking & Desserts finalists!! I think this goes without saying, but VOTE IMMEDIATELY CAST. Weeeeee!!!! 😀
These cakes sounds so delicious and look so adorable. Angel food cake is my most favorite kind of cake, so I am totally on board with any cake that’s light and airy and made mostly of sugar. Especially when it’s topped with berries and cream. THE BEST.
And omg, DOORS. I have such problems. I always manage to choose the wrong end to push from when it’s one of those doors that just has a big long bar running across it instead of an actual knob. One of my worst door mishaps occurred last year, when I stopped by a local pizza place around 10am to ask them if I could just buy one of their boxes (to use for a pizza I was making/transporting later). Their door is kind of old and weird, with one of those latches that you press with your thumb, and I just could NOT get it open. I fiddled with it, pushed, fiddled some more. Nothing. Then I had one of those moments where I just awkwardly stood there for like 15 seconds, trying to decide what I should do. Then the guy who had been behind the counter witnessing this came over and opened the door for me so I could sheepishly stroll in. He gave me the box for free, probably because my face was an extraordinary shade of red. (:
YAY thanks SO MUCH CAREY! :)))) and thanks for sharing it on your facebook page!
hah exactemundo! They’re awesome.
You always have the best stories ahahahah, wisdom teeth, pretzels and now this :’)
Trying to open doors and failing is SO AWKWARD especially when you’re in a high speed/ dense crowd with a line of people that just builds up behind you whilst you try to open the door…(it happens to me at school ALL the time).
Congratulations, Izzy. You are doing such an amazing job with your blog that you deserve the recognition. Good luck!!
thanks so much Magda!! 🙂
Congratulations!!! Great job Izy! I’ll have to sign up and cast my vote, but it’s just so awesome that you’re up there among the rest! And I am in love with these latest photos. I was wondering what they were when you were posting them on Instagram, question answered. Love the berries – they put me in a spring-y mood.
And I do the same thing with song lyrics. I’m the total laughingstock of all my friends, hahaha.
Yay thanks Linda!!
haha, I always seem to do this instagram teasing thing (not really intentionally) because I usually make things at least a week in advance 🙂 Thank you!! I know, I was feeling summery (despite the snow and grey skies here :/ )
same here, its super awkward, but I continue to do it all the time 🙂
Those pink-swirled meringues? Genius!
thank you! I really love how they turned out 🙂
congrats!!! just voted for you..you totally deserve it 🙂 these pics are breathtaking!!! seriously gorgeous! good luck!!
thanks so much!!!! 🙂
I think you know I already voted for you. Not to mention I’m gonna be telling everyone! Anyway, these look amazing, I absolutely adore the creativity out of these cakes!
hahaha, thanks! 🙂
Thanks for the great recipes. I made the cookies yestersay and the prezals today. Yummy!
No problemo! Glad you liked them :))
BEAUTIFUL photos, wow! I voted for you 🙂 Hope you win!
THANK YOU!! 😀
I’ve been looking forward to this post ever since you instagrammed these! So gorgeous, I can’t blame you at all for going nuts with the photos. Congrats again on the nomination, you so deserve it!
ahaha, thanks so much Steph! I need to stop teasing everyone with my instagrams :/
You are amazing Izy, I hope you winn, you deserve it!
After reading this post, I am happy to find out the I am not the only person whose face looks like a tomato in stressful situations 🙂
Aww thank you so much Klara! 🙂
haha, me too!
you’re an inspiration – congratulations
thanks so much clare 🙂
CONGRATS! So well deserved! These cakes are gorgeous!
YAY, thanks Anna! 🙂
Congratulations, that’s so great! Your meringue cakes look absolutely gorgeous, your photos are totally beautiful!
aww, thank you so much Rosie! 😀
I think you TOTALLY deserve to win 🙂 And this cake looks so pretty . You just know how to make any food look pretty.
thanks Kankana! 🙂 haha that’s why I stick to desserts, its easier to make things look pretty when there’s berries and cake involved 😉
Congratulations! I always admire the quality and beauty of your food and photographs. You’ve got my vote!
thank you Marcie!! 😀
congrats! i just voted for u too! your blog surely deserves it! i love layering too because every dessert should have its only look and personality!
thank youuu!! Exactly 😀
Congratulations..
Not Only Sugar
thanks :)))
Congratulations!!!! Very well deserved! You should be incredibly proud! And these cakes look absolutely beautiful and delicious! Great shots.
Heyy girl–you’d better win that stuff. Snap! I’m breaking out my sassiness for you. HAHAHAHAHA. Sorry. Autocorrect fail. 🙂
YAYYYYY!!!! Congratulations my friend!!! I am sooo very happy and excited for you!! I voted for you immediately upon seeing you listed (of course) and am completely blown away by the beauty of these cakes and photos. I love tiny individual-sized desserts, they just seem even more special and dainty than regular-sized ones 🙂 The berries look just stunning, too. A beautiful post.
Congratulations!
I’m just about to vote for you. 🙂 Well done, you totally deserve it!!
These are so beautiful, i especially loved the gif!
Well done xxxx
It’s so beautiful!
Izy, came across your blog from Ibbs of ‘the lobster and me’ your writing is incredible and I’m still trying to get over the fact that you’re seventeen. You made me laugh about five times in that post and I LOVE the cake recipe. Will be perfect for my boyfriends birthday this weekend.
Katie <3
Sometimes I seriously feel like I know you, like when you talk about how you can’t open envelopes to save your life. That is LITERALLY me; I seriously make them look like a dog chewed them up and I think I’ve even ripped the contents inside before. And also, I’m pretty sure I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that Twitter and I will never be best friends. 🙁
Your cakes look lovely as always!
I just came across your website from the Saveur Awards thing and I just wanted to say that 1. that cake looks delicious and I want to make it – soon!- and 2. I feel like I can relate to every single one of those fails. Glad to know I’m not alone out there, haha. 😉
Your blog is so beautiful! Congrats on your success!
hi Izy!
I adapted this recipe on my blog! I thought you might be interested, here it is: http://chloedejonge.blogspot.hu/2013/05/izys-meringue-cake.html
xx
Chloe
Your blog is freaking amazing!! You are seriously so incredibly talented. Please teach me your skills! Congrats on the nomination by the way, that’s huge. I have a question if you don’t mind me asking, how do you get the vintage look in your photos, like that light and airy look? Do you use photoshop or lightroom? I use photoshop and I can’t figure out how to get this amazing look… I mean I know none of my photos could ever look as awesome as yours but I’d love to figure out how to do that. Thanks! Keep up the awesome blog and gorgeous photography!
You did an excellent photography . I enjoyed the animated pictures specially. Nice sharing…
Sweet Revenge London
You really have a such a nice blog. i really liked it. One thing i must say that you have are a GOD gifted talented person. GREAT!!..
Thanks!!
Congratulations!!! Great job! i just loved it. i really become a fan of yours now.
Thanks!!