Tag Archives: meringue

Cielaviņa – chocolate & meringue cake

Cielaviņa is a typical Latvian cake that combines crunchy meringue with a tasty chocolate cream. It reminds me of my childhood; when I was little we always bought it from “Staburadze” – a Latvian confectionary manufacturer. But I always wanted to try a home-made version of it and my last birthday seemed to be the right occasion! Now I’m publishing this recipe right before Latvian National Day (the 18th of November). So, try this delicious Latvian cake to celebrate it!

Cielaviņa

Ingredients: Meringue

400g powder sugar
6 egg whites
a pinch of salt
2 table spoons of corn starch
200g hazelnuts

Chocolate butter cream

6 egg yolks
4 table spoons of sugar
40g water
250-300g butter (room temperature)
200ml sweet condensed milk
4-5 table spoons of cacao
a pinch of salt
1-2 table spoons of rum

Chocolate glaze:

100g dark chocolate
50ml sweet cream

Decoration:

50-100g hazelnuts

Pavlova with figs

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Light Meringue cake with fruits

Pavlova is a meringue cake with a crunchy exterior and a soft interior, which is usually topped with whipped cream and berries or some fresh fruits. It is soft, light and very delicisous. Pavlova is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, and got this name after her 1920s tour through Australia. Still, it is unclear where the dessert itself originated from: some argue it comes from New Zealand, others say it is Australin and some even say that it comes from the United States. It is a dessert most identified with the summer time, but is eaten all year round in many Australian and New Zealand homes and has become as well very popular in Europe.

I had wanted to make this cake for a long time, but somehow I was afraid of it being too hard. Now that we have moved homes, I have a new oven and it seems that together “we” can master this elegant and fragile cake very well. I hope that you will enjoy my recipe.

Pavlova with figs

Yield: 5-6 portions

Ingredients:

Meringue

5 egg-whites
270g powder (caster) sugar (minimum 250g of sugar)
1 table spoon white vinegar
1 table spoon maizena
1 tea spoon vanilla extract

Topping

250ml cream
1 tea spoon vanilla extract
1 table spoon of sugar (if you don’t like your cakes too sweet, you can also skip it)
400g of fresh figs
some mint for the decoration

Macarons (the Italian way)

What are macarons?

Macarons are all the rage now, and you’re sure to find them from Beijing to Rio. But, in case you haven’t come across them yet, here’s a nice picture:

two kinds of chocolate filling macarons

A perfect macaron has two almond-meringue pastries that have been cooked to be smooth and crisp, and the middle is filled with a cream, jam, or some other tasty ingredient (sometimes even something unexpected, like foie gras!)

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