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Marengo cake


Marengo cake

Shortcrust pastry, custard, sponge cake and, as if that wasn't enough, meringue which gives its name to the marengo cake.

Today we are going to discover one of those desserts that cannot leave you indifferent due to its taste and appearance. We are talking about the marengo cake made up of a shortcrust pastry shell filled with sponge cake and cream and covered with a sumptuous meringue .

The recipe is already present in Pellegrino Artusi's 1891 book, where all the steps are described in detail. The name, however, has nothing to do with the city of the same name (as happens with chicken Marengo for example). The reference is rather to the " marenga " term in ancient Italian which indicates the decoration based on meringue.

Making this dessert requires a minimum of time and patience, although you can bypass and speed up some steps by purchasing ready-made sponge cake, for example. For the rest, roll up your sleeves and let's get to work.

Custard
Custard

Preparation

For the marengo cake

1

First prepare the shortcrust pastry . Combine the 00 flour and sugar in a bowl and give a quick mix before adding the cold butter cut into cubes. Start kneading with your fingertips so as not to heat it too much and, once you have obtained a crumbled mixture, add the whole egg and the yolk and finish kneading.

2

Form a loaf, wrap it in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

3

In the meantime, prepare the custard . Heat the milk with the vanilla bean seeds. Separately, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and flour until you obtain a smooth cream.

4

As soon as the milk comes to the boil, pour it over the eggs, stirring with a whisk and putting it back on the heat. Cook for about 10 minutes , stirring often until it thickens. Transfer the cream into a bowl and leave to cool covered with cling film.

5

Now all that remains is to assemble the dessert. Get a 24cm diameter springform or tart pan. Roll out the pastry and use it to cover the base, making sure you have two fingers on the edge .

6

Cut the sponge cake into half-centimeter slices and distribute them on the bottom of the cake. Soak them with the rosolio (or with another liqueur of your choice) and cover with the custard , leveling it. Form another layer of sponge cake soaked in the liqueur and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes .

7

In the meantime, whip the egg whites with the icing sugar until you obtain a stiff mixture. Remove the cake from the oven, decorate it with the meringue and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. The meringue should brown slightly.

8

Let it cool completely before serving.

Although making this dessert requires a minimum of effort and organization, we can guarantee that you will be amazed at the first taste.

If you love desserts with meringue, then you should absolutely try the meringue cake , a classic that everyone can agree on.

Conservation

We advise you to keep this dessert in the refrigerator, well covered with a special cover, and consume it within 2-3 days.

Read also
The various types of meringues: Italian, French, Swiss

Riproduzione riservata © - WT

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