Red, White and Blue Meringue Cake with Coconut Cream and Fresh Berries

This cake is layers of light crispy fruit flavored meringues, whipped coconut cream, fresh fruit, and a few drizzles of chocolate to top it off.  The meringues are flavored naturally with powdered freeze dried fruit which also gives them the intense and awesome color. And best of all, these are egg free, utilizing the fabulousness of aquafaba (chickpea brine).  These  cakes make an awesome light and dreamy summertime dessert and perfect for a celebration (even if you have to invent your own! 🙂

You can find freeze dried fruit in most health food stores, or if you make your own, that’s even better.  I have seen freeze dried veggies too so someday you may find a green bean meringue recipe on this blog ahaha.  I just can’t stop making meringues, now that it’s possible to make them egg free, it’s like a whole new flavor, texture world has opened up and it is fabulous.

It may sound like a lot of steps to make these, but all of the components can be done in advance and then put together whenever you want.  The meringues take a lot of oven time, so plan accordingly! These are best served directly after being assembled as the meringue will start to get soggy from the coconut cream if left out too long.

Red, White, and Blue Meringue Cake with Coconut Cream and Fresh Berries

(this recipe will make approximately 14 4″ rounds, or a combination of rounds and smaller cookies)

• 3/4 cup aquafaba (The brine from one can of chickpeas. You can use liquid from other beans too.)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons ground freeze dried strawberries
• 3 tablespoons ground freeze dried blueberries
• 3 cups coconut whipped cream (see Gimme Some Oven for awesome coconut cream picture tutorial)
• 16 oz strawberries, chopped
• 2 pints blueberries
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

1. First prepare your baking sheets.  Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Using a cookie cutter or round cup, trace circles of your desired size onto the parchment.  Each cake uses 3 meringue circles so keep this in mind. After you’ve finished tracing, turn the parchment paper over! This is to prevent the pencil or pen marking from tranferring to your meringues. You can still see the outline of the circles from the other side.
2. Prepare your piping bags so they are ready to go as soon as the meringue is.  I used a #6 star tip but you can use a round tip or bigger star tip, depending on the size circles you are making.
3. To turn freeze dried fruit into a powder, put in a food processor or coffee grinder and process until it is a powder.  This can get a little messy as the powder likes to get in nooks and cranies if you’re not careful and it is sticky if it gets wet.  I grind each one, cleaning the food processor inbetween.
4. Turn your oven to 200F.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat the aquafaba with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form (foamy and holds a little bit of structure).
6. Add the cream of tartar and continue whisking until medium peaks.
7. Very slowly add the sugar bit by bit. If you are using a stand mixer, shake the sugar in little by little while still beating on high speed. If you are using a handheld mixer, you can add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure each tablespoon in incorporated into the mix before adding the next.
8. Beat the aquafaba mixture until stiff peaks, thick and fluffy. Keep beating until all the sugar is dissolved (it should not be grainy at all!).
9. Separate the meringue into 3 equal portions. One for each color
10. For the white meringue, beat in the vanilla and pinch cinnamon (be careful with the cinnamon – too much will make it taste like cinnamon hard candies!)
11. For the blue meringue, beat in the ground freeze dried blueberries (I find it incorporates best if this is done with a mixer, but a strong arm and whisk work well too:)
12. For the red (pink) meringue, beat in the ground freeze dried strawberries.
13. Pipe out the circles (and cookies if you want) on the prepared baking sheets. To make swirly patterns, add two different colors side by side in the piping bag.
14. Bake for 2 hours, DO NOT open the oven door.  After the 2 hours is up, turn off the oven, leaving the meringues inside. You can open the oven and check them at this point. They’ll probably still be a little soft and chewy. Leave them in the closed oven until completely dry, usually about an hour.
15. Immediately after removing them from the oven, put them in an airtight container. If they get left out and there is any humidity where you are, they will get sticky and soft.  They can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.
16. To assemble, layer a blue meringue circle on plate.  Spread coconut cream over it and then arrange blueberries on top.  Put the second meringue circle on top of the blueberries, layer more coconut cream and then arrange the strawberries on top.  Place the last meringue on top, spread more coconut cream on, decorate top with fresh fruit and drizzle liberally with chocolate. Serve immediately.
17. To make chocolate sauce: Microwave chocolate and coconut oil in 15 second increments until completely melted. (it can burn if you microwave it too long, so make sure to do it in small allotments).