This Lucuma Meringue Cake is very traditional in Chile and usually is bought at the favorite family bakery. I don’t remember my mother ever doing it at home. It is so easy to come. But after moving to the USA, I didn’t have another option other than learning to do it by myself, and soon I was making this cake for other Chilean families living here, which is always welcome with cheers and sweet memories.
Lucuma is a fruit native to Peru that is very well balanced, not too sweet, with a subtle floral flavor and grainy on the tongue, but pleasant. You can make the exact cake with raspberry, another favorite in my country, or if you want a more tropical cake, use passion fruit.
Tips for a spectacular meringue cake:
Why is meringue cake sold frozen?
The meringue absorbs moisture and loses crispness very quickly. One way to preserve it and avoid this is to keep the cake frozen. Keeping the cake frozen is especially important if you live in a humid climate: you must make the meringues on a dry day without rain, and as soon as they are cold, fill the cake and decorate it and keep it frozen. Move it into the refrigerator 2 hours before serving.
What fillings are popular in Chile?
Raspberry is a classic. You can also add mango jam or lemon curd.
Generally, any fresh fruit: mango, kiwi, strawberries, peaches, not overly ripe works well, and any fruit puree: lucuma or chestnut. Jams are also common.
Here you can see the recipe for the meringue-chestnut.
How do I store the meringue cake?
I recommend keeping it frozen for up to 3 months.
How to achieve a firm whipped cream?
There are three fundamental factors: the cream, the bowl, and the blades must be cold. And the percentage of fat in the cream must be at least 36%, that is, 36 grams of fat per 100 grams of liquid cream. Lower fat creams are not as stable. Mix at high speed. Other factors are not critical, such as adding the sugar initially or later.
How to separate yolks and whites?
Eggs are easier to separate when cold, so you can put them in the fridge for a couple of hours and then separate them. I recommend cracking the egg on the flat counter, not on the counter’s edge or bowl. The rest is practice.
What are the different types of meringue, and when to use them?
French: the most common and straightforward. Beat the egg whites until foamy, add the sugar little by little, and beat everything until the meringue is white and silky. It is less stable, but the one with more air—is ideal for souffle.
Italian: it is the most stable. It is made by adding hot sugar syrup to the egg whites while beating.
Swiss: It is made by heating the egg whites and sugar together and whisking until cool. Here you can see the method in detail—the best for decorating pies.
What is the standard egg size in pastry?
Recipes in the US are written for large eggs, which weigh about 65 grams in the shell.
Without shell: 50 grams: 35 grams the egg white, 15 grams the yolk.
With what knife do I cut the cake?
It is better to use a serrated knife. It crumbles less.
Maybe you would also like the recipe: Lucuma Ice Cream.
Print
Lucuma Cake with Meringue
A traditional Chilean cake.
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 12
Ingredients
for the meringue,
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 cup plus 5 tablespoons of fine granulated sugar
- a pinch of salt
For the lucuma cream
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of lucuma powder (available at Amazon or health stores)
- 9 tablespoon of granulated sugar
Instructions
- Draw four circles of 20-22 cm/9″ in diameter on parchment paper, leaving one ear on each circle, place the parchment on two baking sheets.
- Preheat oven to 200F or 100 C.
- Place egg whites in a large bowl of a stand mixer set with the whipping attachment. Whip at medium speed until the whites form soft peaks and hold when lifting (without gliding down). Add the sugar slowly while continuing beating on medium speed, then whip on high speed for 8-10 minutes until it looks silky, and if you rub the meringue between your fingers, do not feel any grains of sugar.
- Spoon the meringue into a piping bag with a round tip of about half-inch diameter or a Ziploc bag and cut one end.
- Fill on the pre-drawn circles in a concentric motion starting from the outside in with the meringue. Spread with a knife to level or leave like that.
- Bake for 1 ½ hour. The discs should feel dry to the touch but not brown. Allow cooling in the oven.
- Once cooled, wrapped without removing the parchment paper with plastic wrap and stored for 2-3 days. The meringue is fragile. Treat it gently.
- Use a chilled bowl. Put the cream in the bowl and whip at high speed until it doubles in volume and forms soft peaks.
- While beating at a slow speed, add the lucuma powder and sugar slowly. Beat for 1 minute to thoroughly incorporate in high speed.
- Assemble the cake alternating merengue disc (remember to remove the parchment paper) and lucuma cream, cover with cream all over and decorate with sliced almonds browned in the oven or pan (the classic decoration in Chile), or be creative with the lucuma cream.
- Storage the cake frozen, remove to the refrigerator 2 hours before serving, serve cold.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Sweets
- Method: Frozen
- Cuisine: Chilean
Keywords: meringue cake, lucuma
Creo que la vamos a hacer hoy o mañana. Gracias por la receta!
Súper!
I made the lucuma filling with the powder, as I cannot find the pureed lucuma in cans.
It tastes grainy, like the powder does not dissolve in the cream. I am afraid to serve it.
How do you solve this?
All dessert made with lucuma powder feel grainy, it’s one of the distinct characteristic of the fruit. It’s normal. If you use the recipe amount, is fine.
Great recipe! I was recently in Chile and brought home some lucuma puree, would you put the same amount of purée as powder? I can’t wait to make this cake!
I use the whole package of lucuma puree for 1 cake. Whipped the cream (2 cups) to stiff peaks and mix with the puree. Do not add sugar, the puree have it.
Hola Pilar! Quiero hacerle esta torta a mi mama para su cumpleaños. Una pregunta: la crema que usas es heavy whipping cream, verdad? Gracias!
Si, esa misma, y recuerda que debe estar muy helada para que suba bien y tenga buena textura.
Yo vivo en Colorado… En altura y baja humedad… Cambio algo en temperatura o tiempo de coccion?
Puede que si, vas a tener que probar. Los merengues ya cocinados duran mucho más con baja humedad.
Hola Pilar,
Tengo pulpa de lúcuma que me traje de Chile y quiero hacer la torta con ella. Solo se mezcla con la crema batida? Sabes cuánto debería usar? Gracias
Anda probando, yo generalmente parto batiendo 2 tazas de crema para una torta mediana y la mezclo con todo el pote de pulpa. Es importante ir probando para que no te quede muy dulce además. Suerte!
Hola Pilar, donde condigo Lucuma aca en U.S.A.. solo encuentro Lucumas en Polvo servira igual y cuanta cantidad tengo que agregar !?.. Gracias te sigo por todas las redes sociasles. ♀️
Hola Patricia. Puedes comprar la lúcuma en http://www.tuchileaqui.com/ o usar en polvo como te copio acá Para la crema de lúcuma,
3 tazas de crema líquida fresca
1 (400 gramos) envase de puré de lúcuma dulce (venden en Jumbo junto con las mermeladas), o (en EEUU) 1/3 taza de polvo de lúcuma más 3 cucharadas de azúcar
Enfriar el bol donde se va a batir la crema. Poner la crema en el bol y batir a velocidad alta hasta que este Chantilly, picos suaves. Agregar el puré o el azúcar y el polvo de lúcuma y batir por 1 minuto hasta incorporar totalmente a velocidad alta.
I don’t see where to add the granulated sugar to the heavy cream. Is it added with the Lucuma powder or was that a typo and granulated sugar is not used at all with the cream?
Hi Rahni.
It depends if using lucuma puree you don’t need to add sugar since the puree is already sweetened.
If using Lucuma powder, sugar is needed, add it to the cream with the lucuma powder (I re-wrote that part of the instructions to make it more clear)
Thanks for your question.
Hola Pilar
Feliz Pascua
Gracias. Deliciosas tus recetas
Hice esta torta y me quedo pa chuparse los dedos.
Existe algo como un babarois de lucuma? Moose de lucuma?
O se puede hacer como la crema p’ala torta o cua;lquier otro babarois?
Encontre la lucuma en polvo “organica” hace todo rico y facil
Gracias
Arturo
★★★★★
En el bavarois o el mousse el polvo no funciona tan bien, es pesado y se tiende a depositar. Tendrías que estar muy pendiente del batido.
El helado queda excelente https://www.chileanfoodandgarden.com/lucuma-ice-cream/ y este postre https://www.chileanfoodandgarden.com/lucuma-dessert/
Suerte.
Where can I purchase a Lucuma cake in Walnut Creek California
I don’t know, sorry. It’s not an easy-to-find cake.