Meringue Nougat Cake
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This is a beautiful, delicious cake. One of those that look great and are simple to make. This cake can be a great addition to you Easter table.
Ingredients
Meringue layers
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (50 g) almonds
Filling
- 1 cup (250 ml milk)
- 1 vanilla pod
- 3 tbsp (40 g) sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 1/2 oz (100 g) nougat spread
- 2/3 cup (150 g) butter
- 1/2 cup (100 ml) whipping cream
Instructions
- Mix egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually mix in sugar. Prepare 3 baking sheets, line them with parchment paper. Draw circles 20 cm (7.9 inch) diameter onto each paper. Put egg white mixture into piping bag and pipe out inside the lines. Make 3 circles.
- Preheat oven to 100 C (212 F).
- Toast chopped almonds ans sprinkle them onto each meringue layer. Bake them for about 3 hours.
- For the filling, heat milk with vanilla beans and sugar, until it boils. Add half of boiling milk to egg yolks and whisk. Whisk in cornstarch. Add this mixture to the rest of boiling milk and cook on low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature.
- Beat butter, add nougat spread, beat everything together. Then mix this into cooled filling. Put this into piping bag with round tip.
- Place first meringue layer onto serving platter. Pipe out filling over it. Cover with second layer. Pipe out filling over it as well. Cover with third meringue layer.
- Whip cream with some vanilla beans and pipe it out onto cake. Decorate with almonds.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Cake
- Cuisine: European
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 480
Frequently Asked Questions
Why bake the meringue layers at 100 C (212 F) for three hours?
That ultra-low temperature dries the meringue from the inside rather than baking it in the conventional sense. Three hours at 100 C produces layers that are crisp all the way through and stable enough to hold the custard filling without collapsing or turning sticky and weeping.
How do I pipe the meringue into even circles for the three layers?
Draw a 20 cm (7.9 inch) circle on each sheet of parchment paper as your guide, then pipe the stiff-peak egg white mixture inside the lines, working from the center outward. You need three circles total, one per layer. The drawn circle keeps all three the same diameter so the cake stacks cleanly. 
What is nougat spread and where do I find it?
It’s a sweetened hazelnut-nougat cream, similar to Nutella or a Gianduja paste. I beat it into the cooled custard together with 2/3 cup (150 g) of butter to make the filling. It’s available in European grocery stores and specialty food shops. A good-quality chocolate hazelnut spread works as a substitute.
