Strawberry Meringue Torte is a magnificent and elegant dessert recipe for celebrations. This glamorous and complex confection of meringue, whipped cream, and summer berries is a show-stopper that’s as delicious as it is flavorful.
The contrast between tart, juicy strawberries, sweet crispy meringues, and luscious whipped cream will tantalize your tastebuds every time!
This is the best dessert ever for spring and summer. It’s light, refreshing, sweet but not overly sweet, and creamy. Meringue Torte has a fluffy texture with an oh-so-light crunch and it is just heavenly to bite into.
STRAWBERRY MERINGUE TORTE
I stumbled upon this recipe in my Grandmother’s collection, and it was too amazing sounding not to try!!
If you’re not familiar with a Meringue Torte is similar to Pavlova. It’s a meringue-based dessert with whipped cream and fresh berries. While this is not a quick dessert, because of the cooling time, it’s very simple to make with just eight ingredients. This torte has a meringue base, but with added saltine crackers & pecans. (Most tortes don’t have crackers or pecans.)
INGREDIENTS FOR YOUR MERINGUE TORTE
- Egg whites. Separate the whites from the yolks when the eggs are cold to minimize breakage, but let them come to room temperature before whipping for the best results. Never separate an egg over your bowl of egg whites in case the yolk or shell breaks. This prevents any yolk from contaminating the whites.
- Fresh strawberries. Any fresh berry will work. Don’t use frozen.
- Granulated sugar. Sugar is used in both the torte and filling mixtures.
- Baking powder. Lightens the texture.
- Saltine crackers. Yes! You read that right. The 2-inch square crackers that you crumble in soup. It works. They add crunch and a little salt. (Put Saltine Crackers in your basket.)
- Pecans. Adds flavor and crunch. You can sub any nut.
- Heavy whipping cream. It has to be heavy whipping cream nothing else will work. Double-check the label before you purchase. Heavy whipping cream is usually with milk at the store. (Add heavy cream to your order.)
TIPS
- Do not attempt to make a meringue torte on a rainy day. It just won’t work.
- Whipping egg whites into meringue can be tricky. Egg whites whip best when they’re at room temperature. Most important, the bowl and beaters you use must be free from any grease, oil, or egg yolk or your whites will not whip properly.
- You could sub in raspberries or blueberries into this instead, or even mixed! Just be sure they are fresh berries.
- I’ve found it’s best to cut torte with a serrated knife, carefully. However, it still doesn’t always cut into nice beautiful slices. That’s okay, your guests will forget what it looks like once they taste it.
- Store, covered, in the refrigerator. It will last 2 days before getting soggy.
CAN MERINGUE TORTE BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, the meringue can be made a day ahead as long as they’re stored in a cool dry place.
The oven or microwave is ideal. However, I recommend putting a large sign on it so someone doesn’t accidentally turn it on.
Furthermore, you can prep the strawberries and make the whipped cream 5 to 6 hours in advance. Store them in the refrigerator until you assemble your torte.
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Click on the photo for the full recipe
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STRAWBERRY MERINGUE TORTE
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Save To Your Recipe BoxIngredients
TORTE INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium egg whites
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 10 2-inch saltine crackers
- ½ cup pecans chopped
FILLING INGREDIENTS
- 1 quart fresh strawberries
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
TORTE
- Assemble your ingredients
- Preheat oven to 300 F, and generously butter a 9-inch pie pan.
- Separate egg whites from egg yolks, putting the whites in a medium mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. My best tip is to do this in a separate bowl just in case a yolk breaks. You do not want any yolk in your egg whites.
- Beat the egg whites until frothy. If using a stand mixer, start on low speed and gradually increase the speed.
- Once frothy, add the baking powder until mixed in. Slowly add the granulated sugar to the egg whites, and increase the speed of your mixer until they start to form stiff peaks.
- Put saltine crackers into a plastic bag, using a rolling pin.
- Roll over the crackers until they create a fine powder.
- Roughly chop pecans. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the cracker crumbs & chopped pecans into the egg white mixture.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pie pan, and place in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour, or until completely cooled.
- Once cooled, remove from the pie pan. To do this, I placed a large plate over the top, flipped the pie pan over to remove it onto the plate. Then place an additional plate on the top of that, to flip it right side up. (Double flip.)
STRAWBERRIES
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add heavy whipping cream and 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
- Place 3 or 4 of the prettiest strawberries to the side to save as a garnish for the top.
- Clean, stem, and slice the strawberries.
- Gently fold the sliced strawberries into the whipped cream.
- Pour onto the top of the torte. Using a spatula, gently spread this mixture over the top of the torte.
- Add the additional strawberries to the top of the torte, and a few pecans.
- Let cool for 1-3 hours before serving.
Notes
- Whipping egg whites into meringue can be tricky, I would highly recommend reading a few tutorials on how to do this with your specific mixer.
- You could sub in raspberries or blueberries into this instead, or even mixed! Just be sure they are fresh berries.
- Store, covered, in the refrigerator. It will last 2 days before getting soggy.
Nutrition
You can also find great recipes at Recipe Index or Weekend Potluck
Natalie says
Looks so delicious. Light and perfect for upcoming Spring and Easter. Thanks fro the recipe
Lydia says
My husband loves meringue and would be thrilled with this recipe. Sounds delicious!
Robin Donovan says
What a neat idea with the crackers and nuts in the crust. Can’t wait to try this!