Dominican Suspiro

Hi, Cindy023 was kind to post the Dominican cake recipe, this cake it’s really a recipe that has been past down from generations. And now I happy to share the “suspiro” or merengue. Also we fill our cakes with pineapple preserve or guava for the most part. Enjoy
P.S Yes merengue it’s one step short from Italian merengue, but it’s not the same.

Ingredients

  • Enough for a 10 inch cake
  • 12 oz of granulated sugar
  • 4 oz water
  • a few drops of lemon juice ( to make sugar stable)
  • 1 Tsp of Vanilla extract (you can also add almond extract, specially if you are adding rum to the cake)
  • 1/8 Tsp cream of tartar ( optional, use it if you are nor used to making merengue, I find that cream of tatar it’s kind of salty so watch the salt)
  • 1/8 tsp Salt.

Instructions

  1. oz of granulated sugar
    4 oz water
    a few drops of lemon juice ( to make sugar stable)

Make sure the egg whites are room temp for better volume.
Put the sugar, water and lemon in a sauce pan and turn the heat to high ( do not stir, to avoid crystallization ). When you see that bubbles are starting to form, add the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to a mixing bowl (make sure bowl it’s nice and clean, free of any grease) Start whipping the egg at high speed until it forms stiff picks. by this point your sugar has completely dissolve in the pot and it’s boiling ( it should be at 240 or it will scramble your eggs) don’t let the sugar get any color, it needs to be clear. Lower the speed to very low (stir or 1 in kitchen aid) and slowly pour the hot syrup, as close to the inside of the bowl as you can to avoid splashing. Once all the syrup it’s in increase the speed to 10. The merengue will get marshmellowy as it beats.. continue beating until the bowl it’s cool to the touch or it will water down. That’s it.
TIP for Icing …. I have learned that the best way to ice with this frosting, it’s to always frost in the same direction and do a very thin crumbcoat with a crusting American Brutter cream ofcourse before the suspiro. Once you past the spatula one way, you can’t go back, and don’t try to use the hot spatula.
Enjoy !!!
Anna

Comments (4)

on

This sounds like a cuban or mexican merengue, which I love. Can you pipe the suspiro? In Miami, the cuban cakes all have merengue and flowers and borders are done in it? I tried once to pipe, but it didn't hold the shape (I think I didn't beat long enough).