GRANADILLA MERINGUE CAKE
Makes 1 cake, 6–8 slices • 1 round sponge cake of 20cm • 1 batch of granadilla curd
[see recipe on this page]
Lemon syrup
• 125ml fresh lemon juice • 100g sugar
Swiss meringue
• 125ml egg white
(about 4 egg whites) • 80g sugar • 1ml salt
Equipment
• small saucepan • cake cutter • palette knife • electric mixer • double boiler • wire whisk • kitchen blowtorch
Lemon syrup 1.
Boil the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture becomes syrupy. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Assemble the cake
1. Using a cake cutter, divide the cake into 4–6 layers of equal thickness (about 1cm thick). The bottom layer of the baked cake becomes the top layer of the decorated cake. The top layer’s crust or dome is usually cut off and used as one of the layers in the cake.
2. Place the first layer on a plate and drizzle with lemon syrup, but don’t moisten the cake too much. Spread over a thin layer of the granadilla curd. Place the next layer perfectly on top of the first.
3. Repeat until all the cake layers have been used. Use a palette knife to smooth the sides of the cake. The granadilla curd should not run out. Cover the cake with clingwrap and cool in the fridge overnight or for a few hours – this way the cake will keep its shape well. Make the meringue once the cake has cooled.
Swiss meringue
1. Prepare a double boiler. 2. Add the egg whites, sugar and salt to the clean bowl of an electric mixer and place over a pot of simmering water – but don’t allow the bowl to touch the water. Whisk the mixture continuously. Heat until the egg-white mixture is hot (it should burn your finger) and the sugar dissolved. Place the bowl in the electric mixer and, with the balloon attachment, whisk at a high speed until stiff and shiny peaks form. The mixture should be allowed to cool completely.
3. Place the cake on the serving plate and decorate immediately with the meringue. Make elegant curls and curves with the palette knife. Burn the peaks and curly patterns with a kitchen blowtorch.