It tastes even better than it sounds. This light and airy meringue cake is layered with the best white chocolate cream filling. Add fresh fruit and it’s the perfect dessert.
I have been preparing this cake, or dessert, if you will, every Shavuos, for years. Some of you might remember it was featured in the Whisk magazine about 10 years ago, or more. There will not be a Shavuos in my home without it, and also, there will not be another time where I will prepare this cake–only for Shavuos. This is a dairy delicacy and something my family looks forward to every year.
The best part? It can be prepared in advance, for the most part.
You can bake the meringues, and then, prepare the cream, pipe the cream over the meringue and freeze.
On Yom Tov, you can remove the layers, add the berries and stack the cake.
I like to prepare a few smaller cakes rather than one large cake. I find that they look pretty on the table and they also slice more easily than one big cake, but, of course, do what works for you.
First, you’ll need to head over here to learn how to prepare the meringue. Except for this time, you’re also adding in some instant coffee granules before baking. You’re going to make medium circles just like you see here. Start at the outer edge and go around and around until you fill the entire circle. Repeat until you have 8 or 9 circles. Bake for 1 hour. Shut off the oven and leave meringue inside to let it harden until cooled.
Now we’re going to make the cream. This is a little tricker, so we’re showing you how to do it step by step. It’ll be worth it.
Start by chopping your white chocolate.
In a small saucepan, warm heavy cream until it starts to bubble on the sides. Do not bring to a boil.
Pour the hot heavy cream over white chocolate.
Whisk by hand until combined and no chocolate lumps are visible.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the mixture and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours.
Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or a hand mixer, beat cream on medium speed.
Be careful! This cream is not as forgiving. Due to the high fat content (the chocolate and the heavy cream), it will go very quickly from cream to a curdled mess, so keep watching it and keep the speed to a medium and not too high so that you can control it.
Using a piping bag fitted with the star tip, pipe the ganache cream over all the meringues. Place each meringue in the freezer until ready to serve.
Once you are ready to serve the meringue cake, remove the meringues from the freezer and garnish with berries.
Stack the layers
and serve.
Coffee Meringue and White Chocolate Cream Cake
Ingredients
Meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cups sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
White Chocolate Cream:
- 2 3.5 oz bars of white chocolate (I use Shmerling’s)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- berries for decorating (such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries)
Instructions
- Prepare the meringues, follow the instructions in this post.
- Once the meringue is ready and stiff (by step 3), add the coffee granules and mix just a drop more.
- Preheat oven to 225°F (make sure oven is pareve or dairy). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Fill a piping bag that has been fitted with a star-shaped tip with meringue. Pipe circles on prepared baking sheet. Start at the outer edge and go around and around until you fill the entire circle. Repeat until you have 8 or 9 circles. Bake for 1 hour. Shut off the oven and leave meringue inside to let it harden until cooled. Once cooled, store in a resealable plastic bag or freeze until ready to use.
- Prepare the white chocolate cream. Chop the chocolate into very small pieces. Place inside a bowl (if using a standing mixer, place inside that bowl).
- In a small saucepan, warm heavy cream until it starts to bubble on the sides. Do not bring to a boil. Pour the hot heavy cream over white chocolate and whisk by hand until combined and no chocolate lumps are visible. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the mixture and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove cream from the refrigerator. A thick layer will have formed at the surface, but that is normal. Remove the plastic wrap and discard. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or a hand mixer, beat cream on medium speed. Be careful! This cream is not as forgiving. Due to the high fat content (the chocolate and the heavy cream), it will go very quickly from cream to a curdled mess, so keep watching it and keep the speed to a medium and not too high so that you can control it.
- Once the whisk blade lines start to be visible and the cream has reached the consistency of frosting, stop. It is better to stop a minute too soon than to over mix.
- Using a piping bag fitted with the star tip, pipe the ganache cream over all the meringues. Place each meringue in the freezer until ready to serve.
- Once you are ready to serve the meringue cake, remove the meringues from the freezer and garnish with berries.
- Stack the layers and serve.
Notes
This sounds delicious! I love the idea of this recipe, but I would prefer making it in individual servings. Maybe in a single layer instead of a stack.