Cake baked in a meringue cradle? What a silly idea—I wish I had thought of it myself. No one is having fun with cake anymore, but they had a sense of whimsy in 1953, when the original version of this cake was conceived for the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Unusual ingredient combos were all the rage during this time, but unlike savory “salads” set in Jell-O molds, this cake is worthy of a revival. For our Meringue Cradle Cake, a nutty, chocolate-flecked meringue is scooped into a loaf pan and shaped into a trough, then yellow cake batter is baked directly in the divot.

Why enrobe a cake with meringue in the first place if not to capture the chewy-crisp quality of baked meringue? For even more texture, we added finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and toasted hazelnuts to the fluffy stuff, because plain meringue is a bit boring. Suddenly, plain meringue has become a dacquoise, and you have become very sophisticated. This results in cake with toasted, rich flavors, crisp edges and a chewy, marshmallowy interior studded with fragments of crunchy hazelnut.

We use the reverse creaming method to ensure the cake component is tender—a welcome contrast to the textures in the “cradle.” This method asks for the butter to be blended directly into the dry ingredients, as opposed to the regular creaming method where butter is blended with the sugar first. The fat coats the flour, preventing moisture from accessing some of the flour particles and reducing gluten development. This method also minimizes doming (when a cake gets a large hump in the center after baking), so the top will bake relatively flat. This cake is served and sliced upside down so having a flatter top means no trimming later. Reverse creaming is a small adjustment that can make a big difference.

Mise en place is important for the success of this cake, so be sure to have all of your ingredients ready before you start. The meringue base we use is a simple French meringue with just sugar and egg whites. There’s no stabilizing ingredient and it will deflate if it’s left to sit while you go off searching for your flour and vanilla. Have your pan ready, oven preheated, and all ingredients measured first, and this cake will come together without a hitch.

Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.