Discovered deep in the dessert section of “Recipes and Finnish Specialties,” assembled by the St. Paul’s Lutheran Guild in the Lanesville section of Gloucester, this meringue cake strikes me as something old that’s come around again.  It’s so light and airy, so tall and white, so easy to assemble and yet so dramatic, it could grace the pages of the hippest food blog.  Need I add that it’s gluten-free?

 

At first this seems like a Pavlova turned into a layer cake, meringue layered with whipped cream, but the forty minutes it spends in the freezer transforms the cake to something different.  It becomes an elegant, more unified pastry, almost Viennese in its symphony of textures and tastes, and that subtle whiff of coffee.

If you’ve stored this beauty in the freezer, take it out at least fifteen minutes before serving so it is not too cold; a little melted allows the tastes to better marry.

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee-Dusted Ice Box Meringue Cake

serves 10 - 12

Ingredients

 

for the cake:

8 egg whites

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

for the filling:

2 tablespoons instant coffee

3 cups whipping cream

4 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 225.  Butter three 8 inch cake tins.  Line them with wax or parchment paper, and butter again.

Beat egg whites stiff and slowly add dry ingredients.  Mix in vanilla.  Divide evenly into tins and bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool.  Remove from tins and let dry on racks.

To make the filling, whip the cream to stiff peaks, and then stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Lay down the first layer of meringue, and dust heavily with coffee.  Spread a thick layer of whipped cream on top, and repeat with the final layers.  Spread the whipped cream around the sides, and let stand in the freezer until ready to serve.