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.
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.