Hazelnut Meringue Cake
Let us now take a moment of silence to honor the 30 egg whites who gave their lives in service of making the perfect hazelnut meringue. Rest in peace, good buddies.
Lest you gasp and clutch your grocery budget in horror, this recipe doesn’t require anywhere near 30 egg whites. It does, apparently, require one very persistent (or very cursed) baker to make and re-make meringue layers in an increasingly frustrating attempt to find the perfect recipe for a hazelnut-studded meringue that is crunchy on the outside, a bit soft on the inside, and studded with nubby bits of toasted nuts in every bite.
The problem with making a nut-filled meringue is that oil can cause the meringue to deflate, so if the nuts aren’t incorporated properly, the oil from the nuts can make the meringue collapse, spread, ooze across the baking sheet, or otherwise become “yucky,” as we culinary pros like to say. And yes, I have some fine specimens of failed meringue layers to share with you on Instagram for this week’s #fridayfoodfail post. Let’s be social media buddies already, so I can show you all of my funny/sad kitchen mishaps. Disasters, I have ‘em.
My solution to the problem was two-fold: process the chopped hazelnuts with powdered sugar, to help coat them with sugar/cornstarch and soak up some of the oil, and to cook the egg whites/sugar before whipping them (known as making a Swiss meringue) to make the meringue more stable than the traditional raw eggs/sugar method.
The final results of these efforts were four beautifully formed meringue cake layers that kept their shape and were mostly crunchy, with just a bit of softness inside—perfect! They were just begging to be paired with two kinds of chocolate and fresh berries, and I was happy to oblige. I’m a giver like that.
It feels inaccurate to call this cake “easy,” since it does require over 4 hours of baking/cooling time for the meringue layers, but almost all of that is passive time (ie, “dink around on the internet and call it working” time) and, aside from making those meringue layers, the rest of the cake just requires whisking ganache and whipping some cream, which is legitimately easy. The assembly happens quickly, too, since we don’t need to worry about slicing cake layers in half, coaxing buttercream into a smooth layer, or piping bags of any sort. You know I love that stuff, but sometimes a girl just wants to toss a handful of raspberries on top of a cake and call it a day.
Speaking of raspberries, are you digging these golden raspberries? Thanks, random grocery store sale! This cake would work equally well with any other berry, or even sliced peaches or nectarines. You could also replace the hazelnuts with toasted almonds, pecans, walnuts, or pistachios, so follow your heart and your cupboard and go crazy.
This cake is such a dreamy combination of juicy berries, soft whipped cream, and crunchy, nutty meringue. It is a bit messy to cut, so the slices aren’t the prettiest, but the taste more than makes up for it!
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