There’s a lot going on in our home right now. With only three weeks left of her pregnancy Luise is wagging around our apartment planning where the baby crib should be, what kind of stroller we should buy and which potential names that we could give our baby. On the same time she practices yoga daily, tries new food recipes and last weekend she baked a birthday cake, without anyone having birthday …
Yes, that was a little bit strange, but also very nice since I am crazy about this particular cake. To make it less birthday-like she made several small cakes instead of one large.
We first adapted this recipe from a danish cookbook, and it’s something completely different from the normal whipped-cream-with-jam kind of cake that we often eat on birthdays in Sweden and Denmark. The meringue is sweetened with dates instead of sugar and baked with mixed almonds instead flour. It’s got a layer of hazelnut butter (which is optional, the cake is also delicious without) and is topped with a raspberry and mango cream and all together it’s sticky, nutty, sweet, fresh and fruity. Did we mention that it is gluten free and dairy free?!
We brought the cakes to a dinner at our friends house the other evening and one mistake that we learnt from was to not put the raspberry cream on long before you serve the cake. It tends to become a bit lose after some time in room temperature and then they won’t look as appetizing.
One last thing. You can follow us on twitter to learn about our favorite food places in Stockholm, our kitchen failures, previews on our recipes and the upcoming baby …
Almond Meringue Cake with Mango & Raspberry
makes 10 small or 1 large
150 g / 1 cup almonds
175 g (approx. 15) soft fresh dates, pitted (soak in hot water if using dried dates)
1 tsp ground vanilla powder
1 pinch sea salt
4 egg whites
For serving
Mango & Raspberry soft serve (see recipe below)
hazelnut butter or almond butter (optional)
Mango & Raspberry soft serve
1 mango (150 g), peeled and flesh cut free from the stone
1 cup (150 g) frozen raspberries
5 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil or olive oil (you can use any kind of mild oil, flax, sunflower, coconut, walnut, rapeseed)
1 pinch of either ground cardamom, cinnamon or vanilla powder
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F. Mix almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Then add dates, vanilla and salt and process until a sticky crumble forms. Beat egg whites stiff in a separate bowl, with an electric hand mixer. Add the date/almond mixture and fold in carefully, you can use your hands to separate the sticky mixture and combine with the eggs. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop meringue mixture by two tablespoonfuls and firm it round, carefully, with a spoon. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, when it’s done it should be soft and slightly golden.
Tip: If you prefer one large cake, spread out the meringue mixture in whatever shape you like and bake for 20 minutes.
Preparing the Mango & Raspberry soft serve: Mix all ingredients in a blender (or use a hand mixer in a tall jar) until very thick and smooth. Place in the fridge while the meringue is cooling.
When the meringues are completely cold, spread a layer of nut butter to cover the base. Then top with the Mango & Raspberry soft serve. Serve and enjoy!
David was here …
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