THE CAKES

Prepare the ingredients for the meringue and walnut cakes:

- I took 3 small bowls and placed 2 egg whites in each of them - put the yolks altogether in a separate bowl.

- Take other 3 small bowls and combine 50g of ground walnuts and 0.5 tablespoons of flour in each of them.

On each of three separate sheets of parchment, draw a circle about 26-28 cm in diameter. I used the bottom of the springform pan to do it faster :)

We make the cakes in turn as follows (while one cake is baking, prepare the following one, according to the instructions below):

- Beat 2 egg whites until stiff. Add at least 2 tablespoons of sugar, mix until completely melted. Then add the 50g ground walnuts and 0.5 tablespoon of flour mixture. Stir carefully with a spatula to incorporate.

- Turn this mixture out onto the parchment and spread it out with a spoon, inside the drawn circle. It's not a big deal if the edges won't come out perfectly :)

Bake at medium heat until well browned.

Allow to cool completely, then carefully remove the baking paper.

Next time, I will oil the parchment, maybe it'll be easier to remove.

Repeat the procedure for the other two cakes.

They won't be thick, but rather thin. That's how they are supposed to be. The filling will be the star of this cake.

Here I stacked them on top of each other, but only after they cooled completely.

FILLING 1:

In a bowl, mix well the 6 yolks with 6 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of flour or starch.

Then pour in the milk and beat well with a whisk or mixer until lump-free.

Pour this mixture into a heavy-bottomed pan. Place over heat and stir periodically until it starts to boil.

As soon as it comes to the boil, it will start to thicken. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Add in the soft butter in 2-3 rounds and beat with the mixer to incorporate.

The buttercream filling is ready.

FILLING 2:

In a saucepan, melt 200g of sugar. I used a little more, to make some caramel for the garnish too.

Pour the hot caramel on a baking sheet brushed with a little oil. Let cool completely.

Then carefully remove and chop into pieces.

For the garnish, I reserved slightly larger pieces.

I crushed the rest of the caramel - it can be done either in a food processor, or wrapped in a towel and beaten with the rolling pin.

The size doesn't matter, it will melt in the whipped cream anyway.

Whipping cream should be cool, from the refrigerator.

Beat with the mixer at maximum speed until stiff.

Add in the finely chopped caramel and 150g of finely chopped walnuts.

Mix carefully.

When the fillings and the cakes are all done, we start assembling the cake.

ASSEMBLING THE CAKE:

Place baking paper on the edges of the serving plate - to keep it clean.

Place the first cake layer. Spread over with 3-4 tablespoons of filling 1, the buttercream.

Then top with 3-4 tablespoons of whipped cream, smooth out.

Repeat the procedure with the second cake layer - spread over with filling 1, then with filling 2.

For the last layer, I changed the order of the fillings - to make it easier to smooth out and to decorate.

The whipped cream is rougher and not exactly smooth because of the walnuts and the caramel. So the buttercream came the last.

After you've finished with the layers, cover the top and the sides with buttercream.

Smooth out.

Now, you can decorate as you like.

The easiest way is to sprinkle some remaining ground walnuts over the sides of the cake.

In the middle, you can decorate with the remaining crushed caramel.

When you are done with the garnish, carefully remove the baking paper from under the cake.

The sides of the plate is clean, no need for wiping.

Keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours before serving.

Here is a slice and a section.

Enjoy!