Candyland cake.
Meringue cookies are made by angels in Candyland.
My husband once told me that meringue is the way to his heart. OK, what he actually said was, “You know those white cookies they sell in the clear bucket at the grocery store? They’re kind of like cotton candy but crunchy and they give me heart palpitations. Ilovethemsomuch!” After a few clarifying questions, I determined he was explaining meringue cookies.
Meringue cookies are made by angels in Candyland. They’re humble, sweet, addicting, and guess what? You can make them, too. No angel wings or roads made out of licorice required. You can also adult these cookies and make them into an impressive layered cake which is not even remotely challenging and looks like you are winning so hard at this adulting game. Add a little instant espresso powder and a rustically chopped fancy chocolate bar to the mix, layer with whipped cream and hazelnuts, and you are unstoppable.
You also don’t have to make them diabetic-coma-inducingly sweet. In fact, I strongly suggest you don’t, because they taste better with less sugar. If sugar is an issue (as it is for me), I suggest using erythritol, which has zero impact on your blood sugar and is by far the best of all the sugar substitutes. It tastes slightly cool on your palate, and it’s a 1:1 sugar substitution ratio.
Ingredients:
3-4 egg whites
½ cup sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 pint heavy cream
1 tbsp instant espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 chocolate bar of your choice, roughly chopped
½ cup chopped hazelnuts
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Blend on high until mixture becomes frothy. Add espresso powder and sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form (I always imagine Julia Child telling me this and I laugh).
Once your peaks are very stiff, gently fold in chopped chocolate bar. My fave is dark chocolate, but to each their own.
Take a piece of parchment paper and trace four circles onto the paper using a pen and an upside down bowl or plate, whatever works for you and the size you’re going for. Place parchment paper on baking sheet.
Spoon egg whites onto parchment paper and using the back of the spoon to smooth and distribute. Egg whites are kind of like concrete, so however these layers go in the oven is exactly how they’ll come out. They won’t expand and they won’t smooth out. You can sprinkle a little bit more espresso powder on the top if you’re feeling adventurous.
Place in oven and bake at 250 degrees for one hour. Turn baking sheets halfway through. After an hour, turn off the oven and forget about about them for another two hours. Don’t open the door. If you have an oven light, turn it on. I don’t, so I use my pizza stone and it works great.
After two hours, remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Remove from parchment paper.
Mix up your whipped cream with heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. You can forgo the sugar in the whipped cream and just add a little stevia or drizzle of honey.
Now it’s time to create an Level 7 Adult Dessert. Put a small spoonful of whipped cream on whatever plate you’re using to assemble your cake. This makes it sticky and will prevent your meringue creation from sliding around and becoming a viral YouTube cake disaster phenomenon.
Layer your meringue, whipped cream, and a sparse layer of hazelnuts. Repeat. Top with some extra chocolate and eat immediately. If you aren’t eating this immediately, pop it in the fridge. It will get less crunchy, though.
Oh, and congratulations on the whole adulting thing! I’m hoping to make it a regular thing in my life.
Just kidding.
