Strawberry Meringue Cake

Ugh. I know, I know I've posted way too many strawberry recipes lately (two versions of strawberry short cake [one and two]. Who do I think I am? Also, my strawberry muffins have really been hitting up Pinterest this week). What's the deal with all the strawberries?

Well, once upon a time - about a month ago - strawberries were in season, and we hadn't started getting CSA fruit yet. And then, life got busy and hard and I stopped posting recipes for a while. And now, life is still busy and still hard and I have a back log of recipes to share. Like this very impressive dessert.

I made this beauty nightmare and someone died. Or, let me rephrase. One of my good friends and I like to host things. And, sometimes we like to kill people host murder mystery parties (enough with the struck out text, now. I promise I'm done with that). We use the "How to Host a Murder" games and she handles organizing attendance and assigning characters while I handle the menu. Last time we did this in the fall, I didn't manage to take any pictures of the food. So the fact that I managed this is an accomplishment. I'll have to remake the roasted red pepper sauce since I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of that.

I really, really love layered things. Layered desserts, in particular, but also lasagna and croissants and biscuits. And, this one really wow-ed my friends. That's not to say it was flawless. As my mom would say, my meringues didn't really "rang". They broke and cracked - and my friends were here waiting for dessert, so as Julia child would do and slopped it together. And served it with a smile.

I'll conquer the perfect meringue another day - this one was yummy and good enough. Also, we're big fans of the crushed, toasted pecans in this. My mom said it gave it great texture and flavor. I'm new to meringues and have nothing to compare it to, but liked it as well! Also, I faked my own mascarpone filling since I'm too poor to actually buy it.

I paired this with my latest adventure in homemade ice cream: fresh mint basil. It sounds unusual, but was perfectly flavored and a great, light, crisp addition to round out this dessert.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living April 2012

Fresh Strawberry Meringue Cake Ingredients:
1 c. chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 c. sugar, divided
7 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
4 1/2 c. sliced fresh strawberries

Fake Mascarpone Filling Ingredients:
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
2 c. whipping cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 - 1 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Toast pecans in a single layer 10 - 12 minutes (they'll start to smell reaaaally yummy). Remove from oven and cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 250.
2. Cover two large backing sheets with parchment paper and draw two 8-inch circles on each piece of paper (four circles total).
3. Crush pecans (I used a mortar pestle but you can use a food processor. Mix with cornstarch, salt and 1/2 c. sugar. 
4. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add 1 c. sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating at medium-high speed until mixture is glossy, stiff peaks form, and sugar dissolves (2 - 4 minutes). Add half of the pecan mixture to the egg white mixture and gently fold them together until blended. Add the second half of the pecan mixture and gently fold again.
5. Gently spoon egg white mixture onto circles draw on the parchment paper and spread to cover each circle completely. Bake at 250 for 1 hour, turning baking sheets after 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let meringues stand in closed oven with the light on 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until surface is dry and meringues can be lifted from paper without sticking from paper without sticking to fingers. 
6. Just before assembling, whip cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and powdered sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whip cream and fold into cream cheese mixture.
7. Carefully remove 1 meringue from parchment paper and place on a serving plate. Spread one-fourth of the cream cheese mixture over the meringue and top with 1 1/2 c. slide strawberries. Repeat with the rest of the layers and serve immediately or chill up to two hours.