Sponge Cake with Crunchy Meringue

• Airy meringue pie crusts are made with aged or leavened egg whites. I didn’t leave my whites, as the eggs I use are not the freshest as it is (they’ve been in the fridge for about 10 days).
• Separate the whites from the yolks. We put the yolks in the refrigerator (they will still be useful for the sponge cake), and leave the whites at room temperature for 3 hours.

Meringue cake

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• Beat the whites in a deep bowl on low speed for about 30 seconds. When the whites foam, add a pinch of salt, increase the mixer speed, and whip to soft peaks.
• Divide the powdered sugar into 2 equal parts.
• Add one part of the powdered sugar one spoonful at a time to the bowl with the whites and whip to stable stiff peaks. But it is very important not to overbeat the whites. Overbeaten protein mass will become dull and brittle, and the dough prepared on such proteins is very likely to fall off when baking.
• Nuts should be prepared in advance, that is, they should be dried for about 10 minutes in a frying pan or in the oven and chopped into pieces approximately equal to the size of buckwheat. Cashews are best, but I used peanuts and walnuts. It turned out delicious, too.
• Mix the second part of the powdered sugar with the vanilla sugar, flour, and nuts and mix well.
• Add this mixture to the whipped whites. Introduce gradually in three to five steps and mix gently with a spatula from bottom to top to keep the whites airy.
• We will bake in a mold lined with baking paper.
• Preheat the oven to 265°F (130°C) and put the mold in the oven. Bake the cake for 1 hour. Then turn off the oven and let the cake cool completely with the oven door closed.

Sponge cake

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• Take the yolks out of the refrigerator and beat with powdered sugar and vanilla into a puffy light foam in a deep bowl.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and starch and sift together. Add to the egg mixture, and mix gently until homogeneous.
• Pour the dough into a mold lined with baking paper.
• Heat the oven to 355°F (180°C) and put the mold there.
• Bake the cake for 30 minutes. Check the readiness by piercing with a wooden toothpick. If the toothpick comes out dry, the biscuit is ready.
• Cool the biscuit a little in the mold, then remove it from the mold and let the cake cool completely.

Mascarpone Cream

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• In a deep bowl, combine the mascarpone and sour cream.
• Beat the ingredients with a mixer until homogeneous.
• Add sugar and beat until the sugar is dissolved.
• Smooth, tender, and very beautiful mascarpone cream is ready for further use.

Top cake decoration

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• Whip the whites in a deep bowl on low speed for about 30 seconds. When the whites foam, add a pinch of salt, increase the speed of the mixer, and whip to soft peaks
• Add powdered sugar one spoonful at a time to the bowl with the whites and whip until stiff peaks. But it is very important not to overbeat the whites. Overbeaten protein mass will become dull and brittle, and the dough prepared on such proteins is very likely to fall off when baking.
• To make the small meringues turn out beautiful and of the same size, use a pastry bag.
• Cover a baking tray with baking paper.
• Carefully spoon the protein mixture into the pastry bag and press out beautiful rounds onto the tray.
• Preheat the oven to 265°F (130°C) and put the tray in the oven. Bake the meringue for 1 hour. Then turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely with the oven door closed.

Assembling the cake

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• Put the sponge cake on a dish. Grease the whole surface with cream.
• Then put the meringue cake on top and smear it with cream.
• The cream also covers the sides of the cake.
• Decorate the top with a small meringue.