The car that I drive is one of those kind where the headlights are always on. Day or night, if the car is on, the headlights are on. And when you turn the car off the lights stay on for at least a full minute. Who knows why. Perhaps to light the way if your destination happens to be in front of the car? This feature is single-handedly restoring my faith in humanity. At least once a week when I turn off my car, a random stranger will come up to me, “Your lights are on!” And I say, oh yeah, they turn off by themselves. But thanks! I honestly like it. It makes me feel good and human to have other people try to save me from a dead battery.
The lights-on-all-the-time feature is especially handy since I have only been pulled over twice in my life, and BOTH times it was because I was driving at night with no headlights (a family trend, apparently). I’ve never had a speeding ticket, but I’ve definitely had a cop do the follow-my-pen-with-your-eyes test to see how drunk I was. (Who else would drive around at midnight with no lights on?) “I don’t drink! I’m Mormon!” I’m sure he’s heard that line before, except this time it’s actually true. Have you ever been pulled over?
So let’s break this Strawberry Pineapple Meringue Cake down a little bit:
On top you have the crispity crunchy sliced almonds, which are baked on top of the fluffy meringue, which is baked on top of a super duper thin cake. The almonds melt into the meringue which melts into the cake and it unifies into this amazing, amazing thing. THEN, you take these two crunchy-yet-soft-and-moist cakes and layer them with some dreamy strawberry-pineapple whipped cream. THEN you let it sit in the fridge overnight so that the layers melt into each other and I’m telling you guys, it’s heavenly.
Cake batter…
Spread the meringue right on top…
Sprinkle with almonds and bake until golden. It’s hard not to just eat it at this point. This is yet another recipe from my beloved mother-in-law Kris. Her mom used to make this for family events. Now that her mom is getting older, she wanted the recipe so that she could make it herself, but couldn’t find it in her mother’s stacks and stacks of recipe collections. She described the cake to me numerous times and we even tried to recreate it once, but it just wasn’t the same. Finally she called me one day and told me that she had found the old clipping, it was actually in her own recipe stacks. So the next time she came to visit we made it and ate the whole thing and it was glorious.
This is the perfect dessert for Easter. It is light, springy, and fresh. You can make it a day ahead so that you can spend time with your family instead of in the kitchen. Plus it makes a HUGE amount, so if you are feeding a crowd everyone will get a piece! To make it you will need two 10×15 inch jelly roll pans.* I only have one, so I used one disposable pan. To serve it, you will also need a large rimmed platter that the cake can sit on comfortably (the cake will be 10×15, so just make sure it’s a little bigger than that.) You can certainly half the cake and make it in one pan, and serve it on a square or large round platter.
Have you guys figured out your Easter menus yet? I HAVEN’T! Gah. (Click here to see all my Easter recipes on the blog). I think I will make this cake though. It’s just such a winner. Let me know if you make it too! Snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #TheFoodCharlatan. I’d love to see it! Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter Other cakes that would be perfect for Easter! Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Pecan Frosting:
Blackberry Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting: « this recipe is so, so easy.
Coconut Almond Sheet Cake:
Coconut Layer Cake « doctored box mixes ftw
More recipes you will love from other bloggers! Lemon Meringue Cake from The Cake Blog Blitz Torte from Good Dinner Mom Hibiscus Strawberry Curd Tarts with Toasted Meringue from Snixy Kitchen
