Don’t you love red currant season? When I was living in New Jersey, they weren’t anywhere to be found. Coming back to Europe, it was one of the food things I was super excited for (together with decent dark bread and REAL Haribo!).
This Red Currant Cloud Cake marries a luscious vanilla cake and fluffy meringue dotted with tart red currants that balance out the sweetness and OMG, save me from myself when it is around! So good, fairly straightforward to make, yet still impressively beautiful, you’ll be coming back to this recipe again and again. You should definitely make it before red currant season is over and you have to wait a whole year for it to come back.
Don’t forget to tag us in your g&b creations, we can’t wait to see what you’re up to!
xoxo Donata #gatherandbedonata
Ingredients
For the cake:
¾ cup (170 g) sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks or 170 g) butter at room temperature
4 eggs yolks at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one organic lemon
1 ¾ cups + 2 tbsp (300 g) all purpose flour
1 pinch salt
2 ½ tsp baking powder
6 tbsp full fat milk
For the meringue topping:
4 egg whites at room temperature
1 cup + 3 tbsp (250 g) sugar
2 ½ cups (250 g) red currants plus more as garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line one half sheet baking pan 18“ × 13“ (46 cm × 33 cm) with baking paper and greasing the sides.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer) cream together the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, milk and lemon zest, mixing until just combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Sift into the batter and mix until just combined. The batter should be smooth and completely combined, but avoid over-mixing.
Pour the batter into the half sheet pan and spread evenly.
Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
While the cake is in the oven, you can prepare the meringue.
Wash and dry the red currants, picking out any bad ones. Set aside.
In a very clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until frothy. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until shiny, stiff peaks form.
With a wood spoon or spatula, gently mix the red currants into the meringue.
When the cake is golden and out of the oven, spread the meringue evenly onto the hot cake.
Lower the oven temperature to 320 F (160 C).
Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until the meringue is firm and slighty tan.
Turn the oven off, crack it open slightly and let the cake sit for another 10 minutes to let the meringue dry out a bit more.
Serve with fresh red currants as garnish.
Any leftovers will keep best covered just with a dish towel on the kitchen counter so the meringue doesn’t get soggy.
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