Every year, towards the end of August i get a familiar feeling of change and with it a mild anxiety. With the weather being so good at the moment, the change is almost imperceptible. But with the nights drawing in alittle sooner and children being prepared for their return to school, to me it spells the ending of another Summer.
This anxiety is most certainly a trace of feeling left over from my school days. It was the lack of routine that came with the holiday breaks that i revelled in. Having never been a morning person, I always remember resenting having to wake up early in the morning for school 5 days a week.
For me the new term has already started. I returned to work after over a week off to find a new batch of doctors in the hospital i work in and that same yearning for a lie in.
It was therefore fitting that, in an attempt to retain the spirit of Summer, I made Nigella Lawsons Strawberry Meringue Layer Cake for our family games night.
This is a lovely cake. Every folkful is a taste of Summer. The meringue in the cake gives it a light and delicate texture. The balance of cream and strawberries with the meringue instantly transports me back to the days of the start of the school holidays, where long days, trips away and plenty of sunshine lay ahead.
My sister Mel took the above photo with her Iphone 4, i'm liking the retro feel of it.
Recipe - Strawberry Meringue Layer Cake from the book Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson
Ingredients
- 125g plain flour
- 25g cornflour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 100g very soft unsalted butter
- 300g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
- 2 tblspns milk
- 50g flaked almonds
- 375ml double cream (I added 2 tablespoons of sugar as sometimes strawberries aren’t as sweet as you want them to be)
- 250g strawberries
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line, butter and flour two 22cm springform tins.|
2. Weigh out the flour, cornflour and baking powder into a bowl.
3. Cream the butter and 100g of the caster sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy.
Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the butter and sugar, saving the whites to whisk later. Gently fold in the weighed-out dry ingredients, add the vanilla, then sir in the milk to thin the batter. Divide the mixture between the two prepared springform tins.
Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the butter and sugar, saving the whites to whisk later. Gently fold in the weighed-out dry ingredients, add the vanilla, then sir in the milk to thin the batter. Divide the mixture between the two prepared springform tins.
4. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add the remaining 200g caster sugar. Spread a layer of meringue on top of the sponge batter in each tin and sprinkle the almonds evenly over.
5. Bake for 30-35 mins, by which time the top of the almond-scattered meringues will be a dark gold. (I turned down the temperate to 180C as my oven is fan forced and the top was a little too cooked so perhaps turning it down even further would be better)
Enjoy!
