Recipe of the day: Bake at home crispy meringue cake
Renowned pastry chef Cédric Grolet says eggs serve multiple purposes.
They act as emulsifiers, helping to combine fats and liquids smoothly, and contribute to the structure of the baked item. He also frequently uses egg wash, a mixture of beaten eggs brushed onto pastries before baking to achieve a golden-brown crust.
Award-winning French pastry chef Dominique Ansel, best known for his invention of the Cronut (a croissant-doughnut hybrid made with eggs), is a huge fan of baking with eggs because of their incredible versatility.
He notes that whole eggs are binders, helping to hold ingredients together and increase the viscosity of batters and doughs, while egg yolks add richness and flavour, and can be incorporated to provide structure and moisture.
Whipped egg whites, he says, are the only way to obtain a light and airy end result.
In his famous Buche de Noël, he uses both whipped egg whites and yolks, demonstrating how different parts of the egg can be used to create different textures.
This season, we're giving a nod to artisanal bakers with a trendy high tea featuring a crispy meringue cake.
ALSO READ: Recipe of the day: Simple no-bake holiday snacks to make with the kids
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Cost per recipe: Serves 12 for under R120
Ingredients:
For the cake:
125 ml (½ cup) softened baking margarine
180 ml (¾ cup) sugar
2 eggs
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
60 ml (¼ cup) plain yoghurt
250 ml (1 cup) self-raising flour
2.5 ml (½ tsp) salt
For the meringue:
3 egg whites
2.5 ml (½ tsp) cream of tartar
180 ml (¾ cup) castor sugar
Icing sugar, for dusting
Method:
Working quickly, carefully spread the meringue evenly over the top of the cake. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the meringue is crisp. Cool. Turn out onto a cake stand and dust with icing sugar.
For the cake, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a deep 19cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
Beat together the margarine and sugar until creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla and yoghurt until combined. Fold in the flour and salt until smooth.
Spread into the prepared tin. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cake is puffed up and slightly golden.
Meanwhile, for the meringue, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Slowly add the castor sugar while beating until glossy with medium peaks.
Recipe of the day : Bake at home crispy Meringue cake
Author: Thami Kwazi
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Category:
baking
Ingredients
Scale 1x 2x 3x
FOR THE CAKE 125 ml (½ cup) softened baking margarine
180 ml (¾ cup) sugar
2 eggs
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
60 ml (¼ cup) plain yoghurt
250 ml (1 cup) self-raising flour
2.5 ml (½ tsp) salt
FOR THE MERINGUE
3 egg whites
2.5 ml (½ tsp) cream of tartar
180 ml (¾ cup) castor sugar
Icing sugar, for dusting
Instructions
For the cake, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a deep 19 cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
Beat together the margarine and sugar until creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla and yoghurt until combined. Fold in the flour and salt until smooth.
Spread into the prepared tin. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cake is puffed up and slightly golden.
Meanwhile, for the meringue, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Slowly add the castor sugar while beating until glossy with medium peaks.
Working quickly, carefully spread the meringue evenly over the top of the cake. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the meringue is crisp. Cool. Turn out onto a cake stand and dust with icing sugar. Notes
Serves 8-10 for under R120
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
5 days ago
- eNCA
New vines bring hope to Israeli monastery scorched by wildfire
Swapping his monk's habit for overalls and a sun hat, Father Christian-Marie knelt alongside volunteers in the freshly dug earth, planting grape vines to replace those damaged by wildfires that swept through central Israel earlier this year. Wine production at Latrun monastery dates back 135 years, when the French monks first arrived. Cultivating fruit is central to both their spiritual practice and livelihood. The monks say the wildfires that broke out in late April damaged about five hectares of vineyard -- roughly a third of their crop. Undeterred, the monks called for help, drawing dozens of volunteers who busied themselves digging holes and planting stakes under the blazing sun. Father Christian-Marie, who has spent almost 28 years at the monastery, said planting fresh vines symbolised optimism for the future. "For me, it's quite important when I live here in this monastery to pray for peace," he told AFP. "To plant a vineyard is a sign of hope, because if we thought that tomorrow the land will be bombed and will not exist, we wouldn't do this work," he added. Working in a pensive hush, volunteers carried trays of sapling vines to be planted in long rows in a patch of the monastery's land untouched by the flames. Robed monks handed out stakes and delicately pressed the plants into the earth. "Planting is something exciting, you plant and it will grow. It will give fruit, and the fruit will give wine. And wine will make the heart of the human happy," said Noga Eshed, 74, a volunteer from Tel Aviv. AFP | Jack GUEZ For her, the exercise signified a reconnection with nature. "I see people touching the ground, the earth. And it's not very common. We are very disconnected these days," she added, trowel in hand. Eshed, who has volunteered at the monastery on previous occasions, said the brothers there were "good friends". Latrun's monks are Trappists, a Roman Catholic order centred on contemplation and simplicity. - 'In God's hands' - Fanned by high temperatures and strong winds, wildfires spread rapidly through wooded areas along the main Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway on April 30. AFP | Jack GUEZ The flames travelled right up to the edge of Latrun monastery, prompting the evacuation of the 20 or so brothers who live there. "It was very hard because we are not used to getting out of our monastery and we have some very old brothers," Brother Athanase told AFP. The monks initially feared it had burned down, he added, but the monastery was spared although swathes of its agricultural land were destroyed. As well as vineyards, Latrun has around 5,000 olive trees, of which roughly 1,000 were entirely burnt down to the root in the blaze. Brother Athanase estimated that around 70 percent of the olive trees were in some way damaged and would take around four years to recover. Last year the monastery produced three tonnes of olive oil, but "there'll be no production this year", he said. "It's difficult for us because we are living off our production... but we are not afraid because life is always growing up," he added with a slight smile, surrounded by scorched earth. AFP | Jack GUEZ He was grateful for the assistance provided by the volunteers and said it was important "to know that people like monks in the Holy Land". Climate change is driving up temperatures, decreasing precipitation and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events in Israel. Standing in the newly planted vineyard, Father Alois said he hoped the monastery would not face a blaze as devastating in the future but that the monks were now better prepared after installing a new water system. Ultimately, he said, "we are in God's hands".
Eyewitness News
17-07-2025
- Eyewitness News
EC govt faces funding shortfall for families displaced by floods
JOHANNESBURG - The Eastern Cape Human Settlements Department said that while R461 million is required for temporary residential units to house flood victims, it only has R120 million. The number of units required is 4,724 across six municipalities. The deadly floods that started in June claimed the lives of at least 103 people and left thousands more homeless. The provincial government held a media briefing in Mthatha to update on disaster response and recovery operations. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department MEC Zolile Williams said, 'The Department of Human Settlements stands ready to start the erection of TRUs; however, we have experienced delays due to community resistance to accommodate victims of floods in both municipalities despite social facilitation efforts.' ALSO READ: Eastern Cape govt estimates R88m needed to repair healthcare facilities damaged by recent floods
eNCA
14-07-2025
- eNCA
France's military pigeons race in memory of brave predecessors
PARIS - These days, French military pigeon number 193-529 is no longer needed to carry tiny messages during war-time communication blackouts. But the racing bird serves as a reminder of the brave service of its predecessors in World Wars I and II, and the 1870 siege of Paris. Inside Europe's last military pigeon loft, Sergeant Sylvain cradled 193-529, an alert feathered athlete with an iridescent green neck. "He's a carrier pigeon, like the ones who served in World Wars I and II," said Sylvain, withholding his surname for security purposes. "But today he races," added the member of the armed forces, whose grandfather was also a pigeon fancier. In Mont Valerien outside Paris, Sylvain flits between dovecotes, tending to some 200 pigeons -- cleaning their shelters and making sure they have enough to eat. These days, they only use their navigating skills when they are released during competitions, military ceremonies, or demonstrations for visitors, he said. AFP | BERTRAND GUAY Patriotic Parisians donated more than 300 pigeons to the war effort, which were loaded into the wicker baskets of hot-air balloons and transported southwards to the city of Tours. Upon arrival, they were fitted with small tubes containing 3 to 4cm of microfilm on which minute messages had been inscribed, called "pigeongrams". They were then released as close to the capital as possible so they could carry them back inside. Only around 50 pigeons made it. Parisians who found the pigeons then placed the microfilm between sheets of glass and, using a magic lantern -- an early type of image projector, projected it onto a large screen to read it. They transcribed the contents and delivered the message to its intended recipient. AFP | BERTRAND GUAY During the two world wars, pigeons were used again when "modern means of communication reached their limits", such as "bombardments ripping down telephone lines", Sylvain said. During World War II, a French pigeon helped alert Allies that six German U-boats were undergoing maintenance in the French port of Bordeaux, leading to aerial raids that destroyed four of them, Sylvain said. The pigeon, nicknamed "Maquisard" like some members of the French Resistance, received an award. The French military last relied on homing pigeons during the war in Algeria from 1954 to 1962 that led to the North African country's independence from France.
