Cardenales with apricto compôte & marsala whipped cream

“Cardenales are an interesting bit of European pastry history. These delicious pastries originated in Vienna as “cardinal slices” but then somehow made their way to a town at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains in Mallorca, where they are known and loved as cardenales de Lloseta, the “cardinals of Lloseta. Wherever they came from, the cardenal is a truly elegant, light-as-a-feather cake, made from alternating rings of génoise sponge and meringue, sandwiched with whipped cream. Though the building blocks for this pastry are simple—meringue, sponge, and cream—when combined, they turn into something really special.” — Marie Frank

Makes 6 cardenales

Meringue
5 egg whites
½ cup / 100g caster sugar

Sponge
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
⅓ cup + 1 tbsp / 80g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
⅔ cup / 80g all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Marsala Whipped Cream
2 cups / 480ml heavy cream
¼ cup / 50g casrter sugar
¼ cup / 60ml Marsala wine

Apricot Compôte with Tamarind
450g apricots, halved and pitted
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp tamarind paste
Salt

Make the meringue

Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy, then gradually add in the sugar, whisking well between each addition. Keep beating until glossy just-stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes. 

Transfer the meringue to a piping bag, fitted with a size 10 or 12 nozzle, and set aside. 

Make the sponge

Preheat the oven to 160°C with the fan on (convection). Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. 

Combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat to a thick, pale egg foam, 7–10 minutes. When you lift the beater,  the batter should fall in thick ribbons that slowly disappear back into the mixture. 

Sift half the flour over the top of the egg mixture, then fold the flour into the eggs, using a figure-eight stirring motion, scraping the bottom of the bowl to prevent lumps of flour in the batter. When almost all the flour has been incorporated, sift and very gently fold in the remaining flour to keep as much air in the batter as possible. 

Transfer the batter to a piping bag, fitted with a size 10 or 12 nozzle, and set aside. 

Dust an 8cm cookie cutter with flour and “stamp” six flour circles on each of the prepared sheet pans. 

Pipe a 1.3 cm dot of the cake batter in the centre of each flour ring, then pipe a circle of meringue around the dot followed by a circle of cake batter. Pipe a final circle of meringue around the cake batter, then repeat until you have all twelve circles filled. Drop the trays onto the countertop from a 25cm height to prevent the sponges from collapsing when baking. Dust the cakes generously with powdered sugar and bake in the middle of the oven for 30–35 minutes, until they are golden brown. 

Immediately remove the pans from the oven, place on a wire rack, and leave to cool to room temperature. 

Make the whipped cream

Combine the cream, sugar, and Marsala in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk on low speed until the cream just begins to thicken. Increase the speed to medium and whisk until it reaches the medium-peak stage. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag, fitted with a 1½cm round nozzle. 

Assemble the cardenales

Place half the cakes on a tray, spread a layer of apricot compôte on the bottom, and layer with the whipped cream.  Top with another round of cake, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and transfer the tray to the refrigerator for 3–4 hours. Dust with powdered sugar immediately before serving.

Apricot Compôte with Tamarind

450g apricots, halved and pitted

2 tbsp water 

2 tbsp light brown sugar 

1 tsp tamarind paste 

Salt

Combine half the apricots with the water, brown sugar and tamarind in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fruit softens and begins to release its juices, 15–20 minutes. Add the remaining fruit and cook for another 10–15 minutes, until the fruit is tender and softened but still holds its shape. Season to taste with salt. 

Remove the pan from the heat, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate until cold.

This is an edited extract of More Than Sweet by Marie Frank. Published by Hardie Grant North America.

📷 Line Klein.