Meringue cake with raspberry cream

1. The vanilla cream: Heat the milk over low heat with 1/2 of the split vanilla bean pod. Beat the yolks with the sugar with a whisk, then incorporate the flour and the cornstarch. Pour the hot milk into the mixture in and put back in the pan. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes while stirring constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat, incorporate the butter parcels and leave to cool for 1h 30 in the fridge.

2. The raspberry cream: In a pan, mix the raspberries with sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from flame and pass the mixture through a sieve. Whisk the eggs with cornstarch and incorporate it into the raspberry mixture. Put back on low heat and let it thicken while whisking. Remove and leave to cool before adding the butter. Cover with cling film and refrigerate.

3. The meringue discs: Combine the almond powder and icing sugar, then sift. Beat the egg whites while adding suga, stir continuously until you obtain stiff peaks. The meringue should be shiny. Incorporate the previous almond powder mixture with a spatula and mix until the batter is smooth and shiny. Draw 3 circles of about 18cm in diameter on parchment paper sheet and line it on a baking sheet. Pipe the batter onto the circles in spirals. Leave to dry for 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven at 150°C (th. 5). Bake the dried meringue for 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Assemble the cake: After removing the cooked meringues from the oven, slide the sheet onto a work surface and let it cool. Place the first disc on a plate and garnish with the raspberry cream, layer with the second disc and spread the vanilla cream on its surface. Then top it off with the last disc. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.

5. To finish, remove the cake from the fridge 10 minutes before serving. Dust with icing sugar and scatter the raspberries on top with the chopped macadamia nuts. Serve immediately.

Photo credit: Sucré Salé