Walnut Meringue Cake
with egg cream and caramelized nuts!
Ingredientes
Egg Cream
- 100 ml water
- 200 g white sugar
- 10 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Walnut Cake
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 150 g brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
- 1 tsp Port wine (optional)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 150 g all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 100 g walnuts
Caramelized Walnuts (optional)
- 75 ml water
- 75 g white sugar
- 150 g walnuts
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 100 g white sugar
- 50 ml water
Preparação
Egg Cream
- Heat up the water and sugar in a pan until the temperature gets to around 108 º C.
- In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch.
- Bit by bit and mixing with the hand whisker, add the sugar syrup to the egg yolks.
- Return this mixture to the pan and heat it up, stirring constanylu, so it thickens into a cream.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring again.
- Transfer the egg cream to a container and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge for now.
Walnut Cake
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 º C.
- In the mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until it is fully incoporated.
- Then add the egg yolks, cinnamon, wine and honey, beating for a few more minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the yolks, using a spatula and alternating with the mixture of flour and baking powder. Keep mixing until you have a smooth batter.
- Lastly, grind down the walnuts in the food processor and add them to the cake batter.
- Distribute the batter in 3 cake pans of about 18 cm in diameter, previously greased. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out dry.
- Let the cakes cool down for a minute, then remove them from the pans. Set aside.
Caramelized Walnuts (optional)
- Heat up the water and sugar in a pan. Let it boil until it reaches a light caramel color.
- Add the walnuts, mixing with a spatula so they are completely covered in caramel.
- Transfer the caramelized nuts to a tray and let them cool down. Chop them into smaller bits with a knife.
Italian Meringue
- Heat up the water and sugar in medium heat until the temperature reaches around 110 º C.
- In the meantime, beat the egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice, reaching stiff peaks.
- When the sugar syrup is ready, slowly add it to the egg whites, with the mixer always on high speed.
- Beat the egg whites for a while longer until you have a smooth and firm meringue.
Assembling
- Mix half of the chopped walnuts with the egg cream filling.
- Place the first cake layer on the serving plate. Cover it with about half of the egg cream filling, smoothening it with a spatula.
- Repeat the previous step for the next layer.
- Place the last cake layer on top. Next cover the entire cake with the meringue topping.
- For the final touch, toast the meringue with a kitchen torch and decorate the cake with the rest of the caramelized nuts.
Notas
If you don't have a kitchen thermometer to measure the syrup's temperature, no need to worry! You can also estimate it with some simple tips.
The "pearl stage" (108 º C) is reached when by taking a bit of the syrup with a tablespoon and letting it drip, it does so by forming small drops at the end of the spoon before falling.
The "string stage" (110 º C) can be tested by taking a small portion of the syrup with your fingers (carefully, blowing on it first to make it has cooled down). When you pinch your fingers, it should form a thin string of syrup.