Raspberry & Strawberry Meringue Cake!

 This is the cake I made for my little sister's birthday, as requested specially by her. It turned out to be pretty darn yummy, and very simple to make so a hit all round! Happy New Year everybody. :)

Ingredients:

for the base:

150g all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

100g soft butter

250g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar

butter for greasing

flour for dusting

for the topping:

800g raspberries + strawberries

3 tbsp jam/jelly of your choice

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp cornflour

3 egg whites

Method:

Put the flour, salt, butter, 50g of the sugar, the egg yolk and the vanilla sugar into a bowl, mix together, then knead to form a dough. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200 C/390 F. Grease a flan/tart dish (28 cm/11") with butter and dust with flour. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to fit the dish. 

Press the dough lightly up the side of the dish and prick several times with a fork. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.

Trim, wash and dry the berries, then bring to the boil in a saucepan with the jelly and lemon juice, adding a little more water if needed. Stir a little water into the cornflour to form a smooth paste and thicken the berries with this. 

Beat the egg whites until stiff,, then gradually add in the rest of the sugar. Place the raspberries on the base of the cake and spread the meringue over the top.

Bake in the center of the oven at 175 °C/350 °F   for about 15 minutes.