Meringue cake with cream cheese icing and caramel cornflake crown

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line 1 x 22 cm springform cake tin.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and gradually add the sugar, beating well between each addition. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, add the lemon zest.

Mix the baking powder with the ground almonds and fold half into the meringue, along with half the olive oil. When fully incorporated, add the remaining ground almonds and olive oil.

Half-fill the cake tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Repeat with
the remaining cake batter.

To make the cream cheese icing, place the cream cheese in a bowl and soften with a wooden spoon. Once smooth, stir through the maple syrup and vanilla seeds.

To make the caramel corn flake crown, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread the cornflakes onto the tray. Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and increase the heat. Allow to boil until the syrup has caramelised and turned golden. Remove from the heat and pour over the cornflakes. Set aside until the syrup has set and the cornflakes can be broken into large shards.

To assemble the cake, sandwich the layers together with the cream cheese icing. Use the remaining icing to decorate the top and sides of the cake. Top with the caramel cornflake crown and chocolate shards. Roll out the marzipan, cut out stars using a cookie cutter and decorate the cake.

Cook’s note: The cake batter can be left to stand and baked at a later stage.

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