Layered Apple Meringue Cake (Máglyarakás)
Making an apple meringue pie – In Hungarian: “máglyarakás” (bonfire) – is a kind of leftover processing. The name means that in the old days, whatever you found in the pantry was put together for stacking. Everyone had jam, nuts, milk and butter at home. And the fruit was added according to the season.
Layered apple meringue cake - the Hungarian bread pudding
Crescent rolls, or sweet bread, milk, apples, jam, lots of sugar, eggs – these are the main ingredients of a bonfire, but today there are many variations. Apple meringue cake is actually a Hungarian bread pudding, which is a really budget-friendly dish, since most of the ingredients can be found in the pantry and refrigerator.
Bread pudding in the world
Every country has its own popular bread pudding. The base is the same in most countries, namely crispy muffins, brioche, rolls or sweet bread and other ingredients. Sometimes it’s syrup, candied fruit, whiskey sauce or maple syrup. In Hong Kong, for example, people pour vanilla sauce over the baked goods, send them to the oven to roast, and finally grate nutmeg over them. In Belgium, as in Hungary, the bread is baked with sugar, cinnamon, and apples. In Canada, of course, the maple syrup is poured on top of the local apple meringue cake.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg apple
- 2 cups of milk
- 300 g powdered sugar
- 250 g sweet bread
- 9 tbsp of apricot jam
- 50 g butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp of vanilla sugar
- 2 tsps of ground cinnamon
Steps:
- Peel apples and cut into cubes.
- Melt butter and heat, then add apples, vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Simmer until apples are soft.
- Mix half of the powdered sugar with the egg yolks. Slowly pour in the hot milk while stirring.
- Mix this mixture with the cubed sweet bread. let stand for 30 minutes.
- Layer the cake in a cake mold: 1/2 of the soaked bread, 1/2 of the cooked apples and the same again. Cover with the apricot jam. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes.
- Whip the egg whites with another 150 g of powdered sugar. Spread on top of the cake. Continue baking at low temperature until egg whites are golden brown.
Watch our video about this recipe: