Berries meringue cake or mostachon is one of my favorite cakes ever!. Actually I do not even know whether to call it a cake, or maybe a pie? And this is beacuse mostachon actually has no cake at all. It has a meringue base with ground cookies and nuts that it´s baked and then you add whipped cream (or other type of cream) and some fruits on top.
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It is one of my favorite desserts of all time. It is crispy and crunchy but also soft, sweet and somewhat acid because of the fruit. The fruits that go best with this cake, in my opinion are strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, kiwi, cherries, grapes or even orange; fruits that are fresh and a little acid that go great with the sweetness of the cream.
People that know me well know that I would take these type of desserts over any chocolate cake of sorts any day. I would rather eat an apple pie or a lemon pie than a chocolate cake. And to me, this berries meringue cake or mostachon is it.
There are some things to take into account for this recipe. First, it calls for nuts. Here you can use either pecans, walnuts, almond or skip it altogether. The second thing is that it is important to beat the meringue in a bowl that is completely dry and for it not to have any egg yolk, othersiwe it will be really hard to properly make it. Third, it calls for cream of tartar. Cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) which is a type of baking powder that makes the meringue rise better and end up stiffer. But you have to be careful, and just use the amount stated in the recipe, because if you use more it will make the meringue bitter and that is never a good thing when it comes to meringue.
Now, cream of tartar is not an easy thing to find. But it is found in a bakery supplies store or specialized stores. A small package will last you a long time.
If you like this recipe you have to go chek out our mini pavlovas recipe.
Mostachon
Ingredients
For the mostachon:
- 5 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp (1.7 gr) salt
- 1/8 tsp (0.8 gr) cream of tartar
- 1 C (200 gr) granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp (7 gr) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 C (143 gr) nuts chopped, optional
- 1 1/2 pack (100 gr) Ritz* or *Tuc cookies , or any salty cookie, chopped, almost ground
For the cream:
- 1 C (240 ml) whipping cream
- 1 C (225 gr) cream cheese
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) cream
- 1 C (123 gr) confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract to taste
- 1/4 tsp (1.7 gr) salt
To garnish:
- Fruit of your choice
Instructions
For the mostachon:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180º C). Line a round cake pan of about 9.80 inches (25 cm) with parchment paper.
- Crush the cookies and nuts in a food processor or by chopping them. They should not be ground but just in small pieces.
- Put the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in a clean and dry bowl and beat them using an electric mixer until slightly fluffy and a little stiff, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Beating non stop, add in little by little the sugar and baking powder and continue to beat for 3 more minutes until you get a shiny sitff meringue that holds itself.
- Add in the vanilla, cookies and nuts and fold the mixture using a rubber spatula from the outside in. Do not use the mixer for this, because it will deflate the meringue.
- Pour the meringue mixture in the cake pan and bake at 375º F (180º C) for 30 to 40 minutes until it starts to slightly turn golden brown. Take out of the oven, carefully turn out and let it completely cool down.
For the cream:
- In a bowl beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form for 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a different bowl beat the cream cheese, cream, the confectioners sugar, vanilla extract and salt togetherfor 2 minutes until soft and fluffy.
- Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture in three separate additions using a rubber spatula, folding the mixture in circular motions from the outside in. Set this cream aside by putting it in the fridge for as long as needed.
To assemble:
- Place the meringue on a big plate where you want to present it.
- Carefully spread the cream over the whole meringue. Put on top the fresh fruit of your choice. We use berries.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
