Technically speaking elf cake is not a true fantasy food, since I have not yet read a book describing something like it. But its heavenly taste, its immense lightness and fantastic looks make is a definite stuff of legends. It would nicely fit into an elven story of elaborate dinners with light desserts, fairy tales of sweet tooth fairies or any other fantasy book dealing with exquisite meals.
Further, it is not even a cake in a traditional sense, since it is not made from biscuit and it does not even contain flour. It has only a handful of ingredients and is made with relatively little effort. But it does require a certain skill set and a knowledge of a few little tricks. Again, a stuff of legends.
What you will need:
- 6 egg whites
- 300 g powdered sugar
- 500 ml cream
- 2 spoons powdered sugar for the cream
- 500 g strawberries or similar fruit
The base of the elf cake are the meringue waffles. This is the main reason for the lightness and airiness of the cake. And the hardest part to make. Meringues in itself are airy and delicate and are therefore naturally brittle and fragile. Meringue waffles are even more so.
They are thinner and much bigger than the usual meringues and really need to be handled with care. Literally, if you sneeze while holding the waffle, it will surely break. Other than that, they are prepared in the same way as meringues. Egg whites are beaten together with powdered sugar to form a really stiff foam.
There is no way to overdo it, so better add a minute of whipping more, if you are in doubt. Powdered sugar should be used to distribute the sugar evenly, but beware. Starch or colloidal silica are sometimes added in small quantities. Silica is best avoided, but starch up to 1.5% can actually help the final consistency. If you are having trouble with extreme brittleness, do look up powdered sugar with 1.5% starch.
When the egg foam is super hard, spread it on baking paper in a circular shape around 2 centimeters thick. Beforehand you might draw a circle with a pencil on the baking paper to help you get the perfect form. Usually, three waffles are prepared for one cake. That gives you some wiggle room because you actually need just one perfect waffle for the top layer.
Even if a waffle accidentally brakes, you can still use it in the middle layer of the cake. Waffles are baked in an oven at 120 C with only top and bottom heater, the fan should be definitely avoided. Total baking time is around 120-130 minutes. The waffles should be rotated every 40 minutes, so they are evenly exposed to top and bottom heater.
After the baking, they should be cooled for around 5 minutes before the baking paper is peeled off. Waffles really stick to the baking paper and it is quite challenging to get them off without breaking them. In the beginning, the waffles are soft and gummy and cannot be easily handled plus the baking paper can tear off big parts due to their gumminess. If they cool down too much, they are practically glued to the paper and usually the paper tears and is really hard to get off completely. When the baking paper is removed, you are practically finished.
Whipped cream mixed with freshly cut fruit is used for the filling. Powdered sugar should be used to sweeten the whipped cream, to avoid gritty feeling. Additionally, a cream fixture can be used for better-whipped cream consistency. As to the fruit, strawberries are the best choice in my opinion, not only due to their delicate taste but also due to their intense color.
But blueberries, cherries, pineapple work as well. You can also use chocolate filling, but stay in the chocolate mousse range, heavy chocolate filings destroy the overall lightness of the cake in the mouth. Anyway, the filling is entirely up to you.
For the grand finale, take a waffle, put half of the filling on it and spread it evenly. Cover with the second waffle and spread the other half of the filling on it. Finally, cover with the last waffle and decorate to taste.
Finally, just enjoy the heavenly elf cake experience!
Image credit: Amazing food
