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This boccone dolce is heaven on a plate! It’s made with layers of soft, chewy meringue topped with whipped cream and berries. It’s pretty and delicious!
Meringue Cake
A local Portland restaurant, Papa Haydens, that is famous for their desserts, serves this amazing meringue dessert. I order it EVERY time I go there despite the dozens of choices on the menu. Not wanting to wait until we went to the restaurant to enjoy Boccone Dolce I googled the recipe and found this great version and now I can make my favorite dessert at home.
What is Boccone Dolce?
Boccone Dolce is a combination of melt in your mouth meringue layered with whipped cream and fruit. YUM! Don’t let the picture of the dessert or the mention of meringue scare you away. It is actually very easy to make!
Ingredients Needed
Egg whites, room temperature
Salt
Vanilla Extract. Use a good quality vanilla.
Cream of Tartar. This acts as a stabilizer to your egg whites.
Sugar. I prefer using a superfine sugar which is also called Baker’s sugar but have used regular granulated sugar too. You will also need a little powdered sugar for the whipped cream and for garnish.
Heavy Cream
Berries. I love using a combination of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. You can also used sliced banana.
How to Make Boconne Dolce
Meringue Layer
This meringue is not like the soft meringue that is on lemon meringue pie. This meringue is crisp and dry and melts in your mouth when you bite into it!
Tips from Leigh Anne
- Be sure and use egg whites at room temperature and a clean bowl in order to get your egg whites to whip properly.
- Also make sure none of the egg yolk gets in with the whites or they won’t whip properly.
Whipped Cream Layer
Whip your cream until it is a medium stiffness. You can read all my tips for making whipped cream here.
Fruit Layer
You can use any berries that are in season such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (remember I live in berry heaven!) and if no berries are in season you can also use bananas.
How to Assemble Boccone Dolce
- Place one meringue layer on a serving dish.
- Add a layer of whipped cream
- Add fruit.
- Place the other meringue on top and layer it with whipped cream and more fruit and repeat with the third layer!
- Drizzle with chocolate if preferred. I dusted mine with some powdered sugar.
On the very top, pile on the berries. It looks so pretty!
Now this boccone dolce looks super fancy and impressive but it really is easy to make. The hardest part of the whole thing is cutting it.
Frequently Asked Questions
This meringue dessert is not the easiest to cut – I find using a serrated bread knife works well and use a sawing like motion. Even if it falls apart a bit when you slice it, it is still going to taste amazing.
You can make the meringue layer 1-2 days ahead of time and keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge. I recommend assembling the dessert with the whipped cream and berries the day you are going to serve it.
At our house there are rarely leftovers but if you have any leftover, store in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for a day or so, it won’t last much longer than that.
Other delicious meringue desserts to try:
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Boccone Dolce
Ingredients
MERINGUE
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup superfine sugar also called Baker’s sugar
FILLING
- 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 pints berries sliced
Instructions
MERINGUE:
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Trace three (3), 8-inch circles on paper.
- Using a mixer, beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.
- Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until meringue is stiff and glossy.
- With a rubber spatula, spread meringue evenly and equally over top of each parchment paper circle.
- Bake approximately 2 hours or until meringue becomes bisque colored.
- NOTE: The low temperature will prevent them from browning too quickly. Then turn off oven, open oven door, and let the meringues “rest” in the oven another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully peel off parchment or waxed paper. Put cake on racks to dry until thoroughly cool.
FILLING
- In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff; gradually add powdered sugar and then vanilla extract.
- Slice berries
- To assemble, place a meringue layer on a serving plate, rounded side down
- Top with a layer (about ¾ inch thick) of whipped cream
- Top cream with a layer of sliced berries
- Place a second layer of meringue on top of this, and repeat filling
- Top with final meringue, rounded side up, add whipped cream and lots of berries
- Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight
- Garnish with several whole strawberries and powdered sugar
Tips & Notes:
- Be sure and use egg whites at room temperature and a clean bowl in order to get your egg whites to whip properly. Tip Number Two
- Also make sure none of the egg yolk gets in with the whites or they won’t whip properly.
- You can make the meringue layer 1-2 days ahead of time and keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge. I recommend assembling the dessert with the whipped cream and berries the day you are going to serve it.
Nutrition Facts:
Tisha says
This is gorgeous! :o) Thank you so much for sharing!
Chloe says
I’ve been wanting to try this for a baby shower. Thinking of assembling the layers when I get to the shower but not sure if the filling will be fluffy enough. I can always microwave the chocolate ganache right if it’s hardened? Or can I assemble the cake ahead of time? If refrigerated how long will the cake hold up?
Leigh Anne says
You could make it ahead of time but it might be difficult to trasnport. I would assemble when I get there.
Jan says
Thanks for posting this recipe! My husband’s birthday is coming up and instead of going to Papa Haydn, I want to make it from scratch. Yours looks amazing. I love the assembly. Thanks again!
Kelli says
I used to work at a bakery run by a woman who had been a pastry chef at Papa Haydn’s and she made this at least once a week. So fabulous! Thank you for posting this, I need a not-too-sweet dessert for a dinner party this week!
Leigh Anne says
Love this dessert – get it every time I go!
Lisa says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I used to work at Papa Haydn’s and loved the end of the night when there was Boccone Dolce left over. The meringue was nice and chewy. I under bake my meringues a little so they are a little sticky in the middle.