Meringue Cake with Rhubarb

Tort Bezowy is a meringue cake.

Meringues are popular in Poland and often made because lots of other dishes contain many egg yolks so there are egg whites needed to be used rather than wasted.

A little tip – freeze two egg whites at a time in a little container – then you have them ready for use later – bring them back to room temperature first.

The meringue that is used here has the addition of potato or cornflour and a little vinegar which gives a soft marshmallow centre to the meringue.

This style of meringue dish was named in honour of the Russian ballerina Anna Pawlowa (Pavlova) after her tour of Australia in 1926.

It is made up of 3 parts

• 1 Pavlova style meringue
• 2 Budyń (Custard)
• 3 Rhubarb compote

Pavlova style meringue

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon of potato flour or cornflour
• 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
• 2-3 drops of vanilla essence

Method

• Use the loose base of a baking tin 25cm in diameter.
• Lightly grease the circle.
• Cut a 25cm circle of greaseproof and stick it on the metal circle.
• Place the circle on a large baking tray – one without sides is best.
• Pre-heat the oven to GM1 – 140°C.
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
• Add the sugar and whisk again till stiff.
• Fold in the potato or corn flour, the vinegar and vanilla essence.
• Using up to ½ of the mixture cover the circle on the tin.
• Using the rest of the meringue put spoonfuls around the edge.
• Bake for 50 minutes.
• Turn off the oven and leave the meringue inside for 20 minutes.
• Take out and leave to cool completely before filling.

Budyń  (Custard) 

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 400ml of milk
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 2½ tablespoons of potato flour or cornflour
• 2-3 drops of vanilla essence

Method

• Put 250ml of the milk, the butter, sugar and vanilla essence into a saucepan.
• Heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved, stirring all the time.
• Bring to the boil and then take off the heat.
• Blend together the rest of the milk (150ml), the egg yolks and the potato or corn starch.
• Add some of the boiled mixture and stir well.
• Add this to the rest of the boiled mixture and stir well.
• Put the pan back on the heat and gently bring back to boiling point and keep stirring.
• Keep on the heat  – stirring for 1 minute.
• Pour into a glass or china dish and cover with a circle of grease-proof paper.
• Leave to go completely cold before using.

Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients

• 250g fresh rhubarb*
• 75g granulated sugar

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to GM3 160°C
• Cut the rhubarb into 4cm chunks.
• Put the cut rhubarb into a small roasting dish.
• Sprinkle the sugar over the top.
• Cover with a piece of foil.
• Place in the oven for around 30 minutes.
• Leave to go cold before using.

*You might want to roast more rhubarb for other uses and just use some for this dish.

Assembling the Pavlova

All three parts must be cold.

• Place the meringue nest on a large serving plate or stand.
• Using a tablespoon – pile the budyń (custard) into the centre.
• Arrange the rhubarb chunks and some of the syrup over the custard.

Lead Crystal cake stand  – Tortenplatte – Venus  by Nachtmann(Germany).

Plates – Lavender by Jet for Ter Steege in The Netherlands.