Midnight madness meringue cake

There's nothing I like more than alliteration and this is why I made this cake. OK, I'm lying but I must admit I like the name of this cake. Now that I have my Grammar Geek confession out of the way .... To be honest, I don't really see it as a cake. It's much more airy and light than a traditional cake. And this is why it's the perfect dessert for a Canada Day barbecue, which is where this made its appearance. (I told you I was catching up with old posts).

Tiers of hazelnut meringue (which I have finally conquered) sandwiched between berries and whipped cream make this an easy dessert to create in steps. And a dramatic-looking one at that. Imagine displaying this on a beautiful cake plattered in candlelight. Sensual, no?


I dog-eared a page in a special recipe-only magazine put out by Chatelaine, which has not steered me wrong so far, but you can also find the recipe here.

Ideally, you'll want to make this cake in berry season but I think you could easily substitute any fruits you prefer... perhaps ripe sliced mangoes, or figs. Or why not leave out all the berries altogether if you feel like it?

Bonus: This recipe was the lesser of evils among recipes I had flagged to make in terms of nutrition info, as I had already joined Weight Watchers by the time I made this.

Substitutions: I couldn't find red currants so I left them out.

Would I make this again? Yes because everyone thought this was a store-bought cake and yes, because I'm a sucker for meringue. But maybe in its next incarnation I will make coffee-flavoured meringue instead (something along these lines). Also, yes, because this recipe satisfies the all-important element of crunch in a dessert. It's highly underrated, if you ask me. The one thing that bothered me is that the meringues cracked. But that's my fault. I haven't mastered the art of letting meringues rest at the right temperature yet. Still, at least my meringue isn't falling flat into a gooey, sticky mess. Small victories, right?

Grade: Four-and-a-half stars out of five. I'm docking half a point because this cake doesn't take advantage of the most complex of flavours. But I think that might be a bonus in the eyes of the masses who just want something yummy, something simple.