Meringue-Frosted Vanilla Cake with Raspberry filling

Wow, that title is a mouthful. A good mouthful, however!

This one is over a month old, mainly because I always intended on baking it again and taking better pictures but couldn’t find the time to do so. I might later, but for the time being I don’t see it happening. In any case, my cousin celebrated her 22^nd birthday a while ago, and I wanted to bake her something special… but what?

I gave myself half an hour to decide on a recipe and just get it done, cos the dinner party was to start in 4 hours, and I hadn’t even gotten ready!

This recipe was the first to pop up when I checked Martha Stewart’s website, and it just looked and sounded so amazing that I had to give it a shot. A meringue layer instead of buttercream or ganache frosting? Really?

Why not?

I made some minor changes to the recipe and instructions, more a bastardisation of Miz Stewart's recipe than an improvement, and only because I was pressed for time. The next time I try this cake, I'll definitely try following it to the T.

Meringue-Frosted Cake with Raspberry Filling

from Martha Stewart

• 170g butter (I always find it easier to measure butter in grams)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs + 3 large egg yolks (reserve egg whites for meringue)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup raspberry preserve (recipe calls for raspberries too, but I didn't have any)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C, and butter the pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter that too! Dust with flour, the usual, you know?
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy and creamy
3. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, beat until combined
4. Add flour, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
5. Divide into your prepared pans, bake side by side for 30 mins or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, invert onto a cooling rack, remove parchment, cool completely.
7. Apply raspberry preserve on top of one layer and place the second on top
8. Meringue Frosting: Preheat oven to 230°C. With an electric hand mixer, beat reserved egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating whites until stiff. Using a spatula, frost the top and side of the cake, lifting spatula eventually to make peaks. Bake until tips of the meringue browns slightly, about 2 minutes. DON'T LET IT BURN.

Reading through the comments on Martha's website for this recipe, I found that a lot of people complained that it was dry, blablabla, but it was just perfect for me. I think it's because Martha suggests keeping it refrigerated for a day, but I just baked, frosted, took it out for dinner and cut into it, so it was beautifully moist.

I suppose this is one of those cakes you have to serve immediately and just enjoy slightly chilled.

Enjoy, much love,

Nabiya