Messy Love Cake

I thought about some of my friends who recently lost their loved ones. How fragile love, life, our hearts — they are like a meringue. Love is messy, but we keep up. Meringues stay together with hazelnut flavored buttercream. Passion drives us nuts, but it’s all we need.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat oven to 250F/120C, convection mode. Line two half-size baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Prepare as many pastry bags with piping tips as the number of shapes you want to pipe. Recommended piping tips are closed and open starts. Their size depends on the size of the meringues you plan to pipe.

Step 2

Mix liquid and dry egg whites and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer. Whip a medium-stiff meringue. If using coloring gels, add a few drops of the desired color.

Step 3

Pipe the meringue making 2-3 shapes — hearts, roses, etc. Bake for 1 - 1.5 hours, depending on the size of the meringues you piped.

Step 4

Using pastry spatula, carefully remove the meringues from the parchment paper or silicone mat. Cool meringues on a wire rack down to room temperature. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Step 5

Mix the first five ingredients and cook a thick pastry cream.

Step 6

Whip room temperature butter, praline, and pastry cream. Add cognac and whip. Fill a pastry bag with a star piping tip with cream and keep at room temperature when ready to assemble the cake. (Note, it's a buttercream. It will harden when refrigerated for a long time, and it will make it impossible to pipe without re-whipping it again. If making this cream in advance, keep it stored in a container, not a piping bag.)

Step 7

Alternate meringues and piped room-temperature cream. Decorate with the best-looking meringues.

↑Support creators by visiting their site 😊