Louise Cake – Cloudy Kitchen

Louise Cake is a primary New Zealand Baking recipe, with a buttery shortbread base, a layer of raspberry jam, and a coconut Swiss meringue topping.

Louise Cake – a regular New Zealand Baking Recipe.

Whats up hey! I am merely popping in proper right here to share the updated recipe for my Louise Cake! Louise cake is a primary New Zealand Baking Recipe, and one which was my Grandad’s favourite and one I take into account baking with my Grandma from a superb youthful age. I figured it was about time to offer my recipe a refresh – the distinctive was posted proper right here in 2017!

What’s Louise Cake?

Louise cake is a superb delicious do-it-yourself slice (or bar) recipe, made up of a buttery vanilla shortbread base, a layer of raspberry jam, then a coconut meringue topping. All the factor will get assembled sooner than it is baked, which makes points large simple, although there are a few elements to it. You truly can’t beat baked from scratch.

This recipe comes from my Grandma’s recipe e guide, however in my evaluation I found that loads of Louise cake recipes are large, large comparable – I am optimistic all of them come from an an identical provide!

Parts of Louise Cake

There are three elements to Louise Cake – the butter biscuit base, a raspberry jam middle layer, and the meringue topping. The distinctive recipe used three eggs and three yolks, with the yolks going into the underside and the whites into the topping, nevertheless I bumped up the meringue quantity to have 5 whites throughout the topping to increase the underside to meringue ratio.

This leaves you with two left over egg yolks, nevertheless I’ve a whole bunch of recipes which could be a good way to utilize up egg yolks in case you might be looking for ideas – these cookies are significantly good.

• Shortbread base. It’s a large simple buttery shortbread base, which is cakey and chewy from the egg yolks. It comes collectively large quickly and the batter is pressed proper right into a lined pan. I protect mine large plain nevertheless you presumably can fiddle with regardless of you need – it may very well be large delicious with some lemon zest added into the louise cake base.
• Raspberry Jam. I exploit Raspberry jam proper right here as that’s what’s ‘standard’, nevertheless you could be welcome to utilize regardless of you need proper right here – one different berry flavour or a do-it-yourself jam may very well be delicious as the middle layer of your Louise Cake.
• Coconut Meringue Topping. I like together with coconut to desserts, and this meringue layer is not any utterly completely different. It is a thick layer of coconut swiss meringue, unfold over the underside and jam layers sooner than your entire factor goes into the oven.

The fitting method to make Swiss Meringue

The distinctive recipe for Louise Cake makes use of a French meringue, which incorporates whipping sugar and egg whites collectively until thick and glossy, then together with throughout the coconut and spreading over the Louise Cake base.

I need a thicker meringue, so bumped the meringue as much as make use of 5 egg whites. Nonetheless as soon as I attempted this with a French meringue, it was means too eggy. So I switched to my outdated reliable, Swiss meringue. Swiss meringue is made by cooking collectively sugar and egg whites over a double boiler. This dissolves the sugar, and heats the whites, bringing them to a meals protected temperature, which suggests Swiss meringue will be utilized in points that aren’t going to be baked, and is good for torching.

Swiss meringue is large safe, so it is a good base for a pavlova or a buttercream, and as well as works utterly on the very best of this Louise cake.

• Be sure that the bowl and instruments are very clear. Meringue works best when there is not a fat the least bit throughout the bowl – I like to offer the bowl and beaters a little bit of wipe with a cut back lemon to help take away any grease.
• Cook dinner dinner collectively egg whites and sugar. I do this over a makeshift double boiler with a metal bowl. Whisk constantly until the mix registers 160°f / 70°c on a thermometer. Alternatively you presumably can study to see whether or not it’s ready by rubbing quite a lot of the mix between your fingers. You want to make sure you can’t actually really feel any grains of sugar. It is going into the oven so heating it to the exact temperature wished is just not as important proper right here.
• Take away from the vary. Do this fastidiously – the edges of the bowl could be scorching and you don’t want to drop scorching egg white syrup all through your kitchen (perception me).
• Whip the Swiss meringue. You presumably can each do this with a hand mixer, which may take about 5 minutes, or you need to use a stand mixer. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks are merely starting to variety. This offers the mix some time to sit back down, although it is high-quality whether or not it’s nonetheless a bit of warmth going onto the Louise cake. We aren’t relying on the meringue for development like we would a pavlova, the place whipping it appropriately is significant.

Can the meringue topping be made thinner?

Certain, while you would nonetheless like a thinner meringue layer you could be welcome to chop again the parts to utilize three egg whites pretty than 5. The tactic and bake time could be exactly the an identical. You will merely should scale the sugar once more to 170g.

The distinctive topping recipe was large very like this nevertheless a French meringue methodology – whip three egg whites until foamy, then add 185g sugar and beat until a stiff meringue varieties. Fold by way of 100g coconut and proceed as written.

Desiccated vs Shredded Coconut

My distinctive Louise Cake recipe used desiccated coconut, which may very well be very finely shredded coconut. I exploit it reasonably rather a lot in baking – in Anzac Biscuits, Chocolate Crackle, and Peppermint Slice. Is it rather a lot finer in texture than shredded coconut, moreover known as ‘prolonged thread’ coconut.

I examined the recipe with every types of coconut and much need the shredded / additional coarse mannequin. Nonetheless, while you solely have desiccated accessible, which will work merely high-quality. Merely use the an identical amount by weight as a result of the recipe requires (due to this we love grams!)

Using binder clips in baking

I exploit binder clips on the sides of my baking pans, to secure the parchment to the sides of the pan. This stops the parchment from flapping spherical, and retains points good and clear.

Supplied your binder clips are metal, they’re high-quality to go throughout the oven. Merely be sure that regardless of you could be baking doesn’t rise an extreme quantity of so that they get baked in. The Swiss meringue on this Louise cake rises a little bit of. It should merely touches the clips, nevertheless will sink once more down as quickly as out of the oven.

Commonly Requested Questions for Louise Cake

What pan did you make the most of?
I used a 9″ pan, which I double lined with parchment paper to variety a ‘sling’ over the sides to make eradicating the baked louise cake simple.

The fitting method to do you retailer Louise Cake?
Retailer Louise cake in an airtight container at room temperature. It retailers for as a lot as 3 days.

Can Louise Cake be made ahead?
Louise cake is best eaten on the day it is made because of the meringue topping, nevertheless stays to be good a day or two after making. It doesn’t protect large properly so wouldn’t be finest to make ahead.

Do I’ve to utilize Caster sugar?
I used caster sugar throughout the preliminary exams of the recipe, as I wished it to dissolve properly throughout the French meringue. Nonetheless, since you might be truly cooking the egg whites together with the sugar which dissolves the sugar, you need to use granulated sugar if that is all you have!

What’s All-purpose Flour?
All-purpose flour is normally moreover known as plain flour or customary flour in numerous worldwide places.

For additional New Zealand Recipes, check out:

Recipe for Louise Cake

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Louise Cake

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5 from 16 evaluations

• Creator: Erin Clarkson

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  Prep Time: 25 minutes

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  Cook dinner dinner Time: half-hour

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  Full Time: 1 hour

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  Yield: Makes 16 sq. slices 1x

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  Class: Bars and Slices

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  Approach: Baking

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  Delicacies: New Zealand

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Description

Louise Cake is a primary New Zealand Baking recipe, with a buttery shortbread base, a layer of raspberry jam, and a coconut meringue topping.

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Base

• 115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 110g caster sugar
• 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 220g All-purpose flour
• 160g raspberry jam, or jam of your various

Coconut Swiss Meringue

• 5 large egg whites (about 190g whites)
• 280g caster sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste (optionally accessible)
• 165g shredded coconut

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Instructions

LOUISE CAKE BASE

1. Preheat the oven to 350°f/180°c. Grease and line an 9″ (23cm) pan with parchment paper that extends over both aspect to variety a ‘sling’. Protected with metal binder clips if desired.
2. In a medium bowl, cream collectively the butter and sugar with {an electrical} hand mixer on medium-high velocity until delicate and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the salt, baking powder, and flour, and mix on low velocity until merely combined, then finish by hand to ensure the mix should not be over blended. Alternatively you need to use the stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make the underside mixture.
3. Swap the underside mixture into the prepared tin. To try this I uncover it finest to crumble the underside mixture evenly throughout the pan, then pat down with my palms or the underside of a flat measuring cup or ingesting glass to ensure it is as flat and similtaneously attainable.
4. As quickly as the underside mixture is simple, prime with the raspberry jam and unfold to create a superb layer. Go away to sit down while you put collectively the Swiss meringue topping.

COCONUT SWISS MERINGUE TOPPING

1. Measure the egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer or completely different heatproof bowl. Place over a pot of simmering water, guaranteeing that the water does not contact the underside of the bowl. Heat the mix, whisking sometimes and watching the edges fastidiously, until it not feels gritty when rubbed between your fingers, and it registers on the very least 160°f / 70°c on a thermometer.
2. Take away the bowl fastidiously from the double boiler, and whip with each {an electrical} hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, until the mix is thick, shiny and white, and is solely starting to variety stiff peaks, 3-5 minutes counting on what instruments you could be using (it took me 5 minutes with a handheld electrical mixer). Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
3. Add the coconut to the Swiss meringue and fold to incorporate.
4. Unfold the coconut meringue over the underside of the Louise cake and unfold evenly. Try and not have any little peaks of meringue poking up as these will bake inconsistently throughout the oven.
5. Bake the Louise cake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown. The meringue will puff up, then sink down as quickly as far from the oven. Place on a wire rack to sit back.
6. Allow to sit back totally sooner than using the parchment paper to remove from the pan and slicing into squares or rectangles using a sharp knife which has been run beneath scorching water then wiped dry. Wipe the knife blade between cuts.
7. Retailer leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for as a lot as three days.

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