Craft Gin Club members that received our December 2021 Gin of the Month box will recognise this incredible meringue cake recipe from the Carol’s Gin Kitchen feature in our December 2021 issue of GINNED! magazine, and it’s one of our favourite meringue recipes to date!
This incredible showstopping dessert is a three-tier tower of meringue, orange curd, cranberry compote, cinnamon-poached fresh oranges and whipped cream flavoured with vanilla beans. All laced with a good glug of gin, it’s a festive cake like no other!
The recipe has lots of different parts but don’t let that put you off, each section can be made ahead of time and is easy to make at home. To make things even easier, you can also use shop-bought orange curd and cranberry compote if time is an issue.
“There are four separate components to this dessert, but don’t be put off! All of them can be made up to three days in advance, and you can construct the meringue cake at the last minute. Alternatively, if you’re not confident piping or forming the meringue layers, you can make individual meringues. Simply serve them alongside all the other components so that guests can enjoy them as a deconstructed dessert.”
They will be fighting over every last spoonful when they see this beauty in the middle of the table this Christmas!
Orange & Cranberry Meringue Cake
For this recipe, we recommend using a Christmasy spiced gin. Their festive flavour profiles work so well with the orange, cranberry and cinnamon tones in this fabulous bake!
(Serves 8-10)
For the meringue:
6 large egg whites
325g golden caster sugar
For the orange curd:
2 egg yolks (from the eggs used for the meringues)
75g golden caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
Zest and juice of one large orange
20g unsalted butter, chilled
10ml gin
For the cinnamon-poached oranges:
200g golden caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cinnamon stick
3 large navel oranges
For the cranberry compote:
400g cranberries, fresh or frozen
3 tbsp golden caster sugar
10ml gin
To serve:
400ml double cream
1 tsp icing sugar
¼ tsp vanilla bean paste
For the meringue:
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas mark 2.
2. Use a pencil to draw 20cm circles on three sheets of baking parchment. Pop each sheet onto a baking tray.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.
4. Add a quarter of the sugar to the whites and whisk well. Repeat this until you’ve added all 325g of the sugar.
5. Put the mixture into a piping bag with a plain nozzle and pipe a circle of the meringue into each of the pencil circles you’ve drawn. If you don’t have a piping bag, simply divide the mixture into three parts and spread each third over each circle using a knife.
6. Pop the meringues into the oven, turning the heat down to 130°C/110°C fan/gas mark 1. Leave them to bake for an hour.
7. Leave the meringues to cool in the oven after you’ve turned it off – this is best done overnight.
8. Once they’re completely cool, store them in a cold, dry place (not the fridge).
For the orange curd:
1. Whisk together the egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the orange juice and zest and mix thoroughly.
3. Put the mixture into a saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until thick and smooth.
4. Remove from the heat and add the butter in small cubes. Whisk until you have a smooth, thick curd.
5. Add the gin and allow the mixture to cool. Store in the fridge in a sterilised jar.
For the cinnamon-poached oranges:
1. Add the sugar, vanilla paste and cinnamon stick to a saucepan with some water.
2. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil and simmer for one minute.
3. Remove the pith and peel from the oranges with a knife.
4. Take the pan off the heat, place the orange segments in the hot syrup and leave to cool.
5. Store in the fridge until needed.
For the cranberry compote:
1. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan.
2. Gently heat for five minutes or until the cranberries pop.
3. Cool and store in the fridge until needed.
To serve:
1. Whip your double cream with the vanilla bean paste and sugar.
2. Place one of your meringues on a large serving dish.
3. Spread whipped cream and orange curd on top of the meringue.
4. Top with poached oranges and cranberry compote.
5. Repeat this with a second meringue layer.
6. Top with the final layer of meringue, and decorate with any leftover cranberry compote. You may also want to use some whole cranberries, other fruits, edible gold or silver or even food-safe indoor sparklers.
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