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So, I made an MMMM for my birthday party, and you can too, with this recipe I've assembled.







T H E M A R Z I P A N M A S C A R P O N E M E R I N G U E M A D N E S S







OVERVIEW







The finished product is a two-layer strawberry cake with a baked meringue layer in between, all covered in lemon mascarpone icing, and decorated with marzipan fruits and flowers.



I didn't have a cake tier, so I put the cake pedestal on a plate and garnished that plate with some real fruits and berries, on a layer of edible leaves (I wanted grape leaves but could only get ahold of baby spinach), for presentation (presentation is pretty much everything in this cake).



You'll want to make the meringue in advance, and the marzipan decorations as well. Total prep time for this cake is... several hours at least.







So, let's go over the ingredients list first:







INGREDIENTS





For the MARZIPAN (decorations):



Marzipan



gel/paste food coloring





For the MASCARPONE (icing)



475g. (16 oz) mascarpone cheese



1c. powdered sugar



juice from 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)



zest from 1 lemon (1-2 tbsp)



yellow food coloring





For the MERINGUE (layer)



6 egg whites



1 1/4 c. granulated sugar



pinch salt





For the MADNESS (the cake itself)



3/4c. strawberry puree (see below)



1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk)



4 large eggs



2 tsp vanilla extract



2 1/4 c. flour, sifted



1 3/4 cup sugar



4 tsp baking powder



1 tsp salt



12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp



red food coloring









Okay. We'll be making the meringue first, and you can store it.







TO MAKE MERINGUE







BEFORE GETTING STARTED:



Make sure you have the following equipment:



A stand mixer (you can do this with an electric hand mixer, but those are lower power, so it'll take an hour just to mix it let alone bake it)



An airtight tupperware container that can store a 9-inch cake layer



A desiccant



A cookie sheet



Parchment Paper





Now, a very important thing about meringue is, there cannot be any grease or fats or oils in your mixing bowl or on your equipment. Even the slightest trace can ruin a meringue. So, before getting started, wipe down your mixing bowl and beaters with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice to break down any traces of oils. Dry very thoroughly and never touch any of it with your fingers.



Also, don't make this in a humid environment.



Have all ingredients room-temperature before beginning.



Are we ready? Here we go:





Preheat oven to 250°F. Trace the shape of a cake pan onto parchment paper.



Beat the eggs and salt until the mixture is foamy.



Then slowly add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, and beat until meringue forms stiff, firm peaks and you can hold a spoonful of it upside down without anything falling out.



Spread onto the circle of parchment paper you traced, as smooth and evenly as possible. Bake for 3 hours, rotating pan every 30 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.



Store with desiccant (to keep dry), in a cool, dark place. Be careful, as this thing is fragile.







Having fun yet? You can make this weeks in advance, thankfully.



Okay, now we go to the marzipan. And if you thought the meringue was fun, well...







TO MAKE THE MARZIPAN







Making the marzipan itself is easy, just divide it into portions and knead in the food colorings (best to use gel/paste food colorings, as liquids make the marzipan too soft). Or you can "paint" on food colorings later.



Now comes the fun part: Actually making stuff out of it. And here's where my tips lie:



Marzipan is like clay. You want to work on a floured surface (except in this case, use powdered sugar instead of flour), and want to regularly wash and dry your hands to prevent it from sticking.



Now, most people will tell you to keep it moist while you're working. I am here to tell you the opposite. Letting it dry out a little (not enough to make it brittle, but enough to make it stiffer) made it a lot easier to shape and cut, at least for me.



The show had many of the fruits on the side near the flowers. I instead put just the flowers on the side, and piled all the fruits and leaves on top.







I made two apples (one green, one yellow-and-red), a small bunch of grapes, an orange, and a bunch of leaves and stems, plus the flowers on the side, and six white roses. The largest fruit (the apple) was about the size of a golf ball, and the "stem" for that was a birthday candle.



Now, a 9-inch diameter cake has a 28.2743-inch diameter, so making 12 flowers, just under 2 inches wide apiece, will do.



If you have clay sculpting tools, this will give you a good workout. Or you can just use LEGOs.



Store this once again in tupperware... but don't put a desiccant in. In fact, you can store it with two halves of a lemon or orange, to keep it moist in the fridge.











Okay, okay, okay. So you've got the meringue and the marzipan made days in advance. Now for the actual cake itself, and the icing.







TO MAKE THE MADNESS (CAKE):







Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two nine-inch cake pans, and line with wax paper.



To make puree: Chop some very ripe (perhaps slightly overripe) strawberries, and place them in a blender until smooth. Reserve 3/4 of a cup of the puree, discard (or drink) the rest.



In a small bowl, combine puree with milk, eggs and vanilla, and mix until blended.



In another bowl, sift together flour and baking powder, then add sugar and salt and mix. Add butter, and mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.



Add wet ingredients, and mix until combined. Add red food coloring to taste, scrape down sides of bowl and mix by hand for a minute or so.



Divide batter between two cake pans, and smooth tops. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool for about 2 hours.











Thankfully, the easiest part is last:







TO MAKE THE MASCARPONE ICING:







Just combine all the listed ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.



Yes, it's that easy.







Okay, all the ingredients made?



FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:



To assemble, place one layer of cake on platter, carefully place baked meringue on top of it (yeah, it'll probably crack and crumble and break, just put as many of the pieces back on as possible), then place the other layer of cake on top. Cover the whole thing with icing, allow the icing to set for a while, then decorate with the Marzipan decorations.



Place cake pedestal on a plate, garnish lower plate with fruits and edible leaves.



And that's it! So, I made an MMMM for my birthday party, and you can too, with this recipe I've assembled.The finished product is a two-layer strawberry cake with a baked meringue layer in between, all covered in lemon mascarpone icing, and decorated with marzipan fruits and flowers.I didn't have a cake tier, so I put the cake pedestal on a plate and garnished that plate with some real fruits and berries, on a layer of edible leaves (I wanted grape leaves but could only get ahold of baby spinach), for presentation (presentation is pretty much everything in this cake).You'll want to make the meringue in advance, and the marzipan decorations as well. Total prep time for this cake is... several hours at least.So, let's go over the ingredients list first:Okay. We'll be making the meringue first, and you can store it.Having fun yet? You can make this weeks in advance, thankfully.Okay, now we go to the marzipan. And if you thought the meringue was fun, well...Okay, okay, okay. So you've got the meringue and the marzipan made days in advance. Now for the actual cake itself, and the icing.Thankfully, the easiest part is last:Okay, all the ingredients made?FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:To assemble, place one layer of cake on platter, carefully place baked meringue on top of it (yeah, it'll probably crack and crumble and break, just put as many of the pieces back on as possible), then place the other layer of cake on top. Cover the whole thing with icing, allow the icing to set for a while, then decorate with the Marzipan decorations.Place cake pedestal on a plate, garnish lower plate with fruits and edible leaves.And that's it!