Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> Hey, you'll like this, though: About 30 years ago I made this meringue
> thing ‹ it was pictures on the cover of the Time-Life Foods of the World
> book about foods of the Viennese Empire. It was a meringue case, made
> by stacking meringue rings atop a meringue base, filled with fresh
> fruits and whipped cream, then topped with another meringue layer and
> decorated. My description doesn't do it justice and I'm damned if I can
> find my copy of the book so as to provide the recipe, but it was pretty
> cool.

Spanische Windtorte. Revolting stuff, but does look great if done
right.

Bubba

Spanische Windtorte
Spanish Wind Cake

To make 1 eight-inch Torte

THE SHELL
8 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 1/2 cups superfine sugar

THE SHELL: Preheat the oven to 200°. With a pastry brush or paper
towel, lightly butter two 11-by-17-inch baking sheets, sprinkle them
with flour, tip them from side to side to spread the flour evenly, then
invert them and strike them on the edge of a table to knock out the
excess. Invert an 8-inch plate or layer-cake pan on the floured surface
of one baking sheet and tap it with your hand, making a ring to serve as
a guide in making the layers of the shell. Repeat the process on the
first sheet and outline 2 similar rings on the other sheet, making 4
guide rings in all, none of them touching one another.

With a wire whisk, or rotary or electric blender, beat the 8 egg whites
with the cream of tartar until they begin to foam, then gradually beat
in 2 1/4 cups of the sugar, continuing to beat for at least 5 minutes,
or until the whites for stiff, unwavering peaks when the beater is
lifted from the bowl. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the
remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Fit a No. 8 plain-tipped pastry tube onto a
large pastry bag and fit the bag with the meringue. Pipe a 1/2- to
3/4-inch-thick circle of the meringue just inside one of the marks on
the baking sheets and continue it in a closed spiral that ends in the
center of the ring (this will be the bottom of the Torte). Carefully
smooth the top of the spiral with a spatula. Then make pain rings of
meringue about 3/4 inch thick just inside the 3 other circles on the
baking sheets. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, then
gently slide them off on racks to cool.

To make a top (optional) for the Torte, make another spiral layer like
the first one and bake for 45 minutes. (The top is used to make a more
spectacular Spanish Wind Cake like the one on the cover of this book.)

Construct the shell by piping about a teaspoon of the meringue onto
each of 5 or 6 equidistant spots around the edge of the bottom circle to
serve as a cement, then fit one of the rings over this. Continue the
process with the 2 other open rings, one on the other. When the shell is
completed, set it on a baking sheet and let it dry out in the 200° oven
for about 20 minutes or longer if necessary. Let the shell cool.

THE DECORATION (optional)
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
6 candied violets

THE DECORATION: Use a flat spatula to apply the rest of the meringue in
the pastry bag to the outside of the shell to make it smooth, then
return to the oven to dry for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare
more meringue, if you plan to use it, following the directions for the
first batch. Fit a No. 6 star tube onto the pastry bag, put the
meringue into the bag and make swirls and rosettes on the outside of the
shell and on the circle to be used as a top (optional). Return both
circles to the oven again to dry for about 20 minutes. If you wish to
decorate the shell with candied violets, pipe small dabs of meringue
around the center of the shell, and one dab in the center of the top
spiral circle, and secure the violets on them.

THE FILLING
1 1/2 pints heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Cognac
3 cups strawberries, raspberries or blueberries washed and hulled

THE FILLING: Whip the chilled cream until it begins to thicken, then
gradually beat in the sugar. Continue to beat until the cream is firm
enough to hold its shape softly, then beat in the Cognac, and last, fold
in the berries with a rubber spatula.

Gently spoon the filling into the shell. If you have prepared the top
spiral, lay it gently on top.