Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice

At the end of the summer, peaches, nectarines and foraged berries, like blackberries, are sweet and full of flavour.  I used peaches and blackberries to make a Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice. I’m lucky living on the farm, that I can simply step out of my back door and down our lane to pick some ‘brambles’.  Here in Scotland there are not quite enough ready to make jam or jelly, but there were just the right amount to add to a tray baked cake.

It all started with the two egg whites I had left over from another recipe.  I didn’t want to make a pavlova or meringues, much though I love them.  I could have frozen the egg whites for another day, but there was no cake in the tin so my thought was to make a cake and top it with meringue.  This recipe is adapted from a plain vanilla tray bake sponge, but I didn’t add any milk to the mix as I knew the fruit would add moisture.

Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice

A fruity sponge topped with crisp meringue and all baked in a simple roasting tin for ease of serving.

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Course: Baking

Cuisine: British

Keyword: blackberry, cake, peach, traybake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 18

Calories: 193kcal

Author: Janice Pattie

Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 peaches or nectarines
• approximately 75g of blackberries brambles
• 175 g butter or soft margarine
• 225 g self-raising flour
• 1 1/2 level teaspoons baking powder
• 175 g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the meringue

• 2 egg whites
• 100 g caster sugar

Metric - US Customary units

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 180 C, Gas 4. Grease and line a roasting tin 30 x 22.5 cm.
• Skin and chop the peaches or nectarines.
• Place the butter or margarine, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs and milk together in a large roomy bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until well blended. Gently fold in the chopped peach or nectarine pieces.
• Turn the mixture into the tin and smooth the top, press the brambles into the mixture, distributing them evenly across the mixture.
• Bake for about 35 minutes until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin and springs back when pressed in the centre with your fingertips. Don't let it get too dark as you will be returning it to the oven.
• Turn the oven down to 160C, Gas 3.
• Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until they form soft peaks. Add the sugar a spoon at a time whisking well until all the sugar has been used.
• Spread the meringue over the cake and bake for 10 minutes until the meringue is firm to the touch and pale golden brown.
• Leave to cool in the tin and when cold, cut into squares.

Notes

The cake is moist and delicious with the sweet fruit pieces adding a soft lusciousness and the meringue a light crispy texture. You can make the cake without the meringue and it would be almost as good, but the meringue really enhances it.

Nutrition

Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 70mg | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 6.7% | Vitamin C: 1.3% | Calcium: 1.3% | Iron: 1.6%

Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice

I submitted this recipe for Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice to The Guardian Cook – Reader’s Recipe Swap and was thrilled when it was accepted and published.

I’m entering my Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice for this month’s Alpha Bakes which is asking for bakes which include the letter P.  Alphabakes is a monthly challenge run by Caroline Makes and The More than Occasional Baker