Caramel Crunch Cake

A delicious cake made with crunchy pecan flavoured meringue layers, caramel and whipped cream. It's the most delicious combination. It's also my version of the La Rocca cake and iykyk. To be honest, I haven't had the La Rocca version in many, many years but I always remember it being absolutely delicious so one day I had extra egg whites and thought I'd give it a go and I was pleasantly surprised. Not everything turns out on the first go but this was just so good!

I’d love to hear how you like it, so please comment below.

If you make them, please share your creations and tag @tarynstastingtable

Ingredients:

Eggs
Sugar
Powdered sugar
Pecans, finely chopped
Cream of tartar
Vanilla extract
White vinegar
Cornstarch
Whipped cream
Caramel, Dulce de Leche or a can of condensed milk

Equipment:

Stand mixer or hand mixer
Large bowl
Whisk
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
6 inch ring mold or cake pan (only for size)

Instructions:

For the Caramel:

If you don't have premade caramel or dulce de leche, the easiest way to make it is by submerging a can of condensed milk in a pot of boiling water, make sure it is completely covered with water and has a lid. Let it boil for 3 hours. Remove and cool. Voila, you have caramel!

To make the meringue:

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw 3 - 6 inch circles on the paper. Turn the parchment paper over so the circles are on the reverse side. Finely chop pecans and toss in a tablespoon of powdered sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium low speed until they hold soft peaks. Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat, on high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff and shiny peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, gently fold in. Fold in the pecans.

Place the meringue in a piping bag with a large round tip and create the cake layers using the circles as your outline. Start by piping a dot in the center of your circle, then in one continuous motion go around the dot to make a bigger circle until you have your circle completely filled. Use an off-set spatula to smooth it out.

Bake for about 1 hour 30 minutes or until the outside is dry and crisp. Turn the oven off, leave the oven door slightly ajar, and let the meringues cool completely in the oven (a couple of hours).

The cooled meringues can be made and stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place, or in the refrigerator, for a few days.

To make the whipped cream: place heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of stand mixer or a large bowl, and whisk until stiff peaks form.

Assembly:

Once cooled, place your first layer of meringue, top with a layer of caramel and top with whipped cream. Repeat this process on with the next layer. For your top layer, place the meringue, top with whipped cream and drizzle the caramel on top. Add chopped pecans, if desired.

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