Every time I go to the grocery store I walk past the bakery to see if a certain cake is on sale. It is a delicious mass-produced cake with a trademarked name, similar to the title of this one. I'm sure if you do an image search for "Crunchy Caramel Cake" you will see it in the top 10.

I've looked all over for a recipe to make it, but could only find bits and pieces. I then took a crack at making my own recipe!

This cake comes pretty close and is nice and sweet. The combination of velvety cream and crunchy yet chewy meringue is quite the treat.

Note: The meringue layers will absorb moisture and become very soft after a few days in the fridge. It is best assembled and enjoyed immediately or within a day.

Step 1: Meringue Layers

4 egg whites
1 C sugar
1/4 tbsp vanilla
4 tbsp ground hazelnuts
1 tbsp cornstarch

1. Draw three circles on parchment paper. Pick any size, depending on how big you want your cake. Flip them over after, as the ink will seep into the meringue. Place the paper on baking sheets.
2. Whip the egg whites to thicken. Slowly add the sugar and continue whipping until you get stiff peaks.
3. Add the vanilla and blend some more.
4. Mix together the ground hazelnuts and cornstarch. Fold into the egg white mixture by hand so you don’t press too much air out.
5. Using a spatula, spread 1/3 of the meringue onto each parchment circle.
6. Bake at 300 F for 75 minutes. It will look dry on the outside but will be soft and chewy on the inside. Let them cool!

Step 2: Cream

1/2 L 35% cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 envelope gelatin
1 tbsp boiling water

1. Whip cream and sugar to almost medium peaks.
2. Put the gelatin into a small bowl and pour 1 tbsp of boiling water over it. Stir to dissolve.
3. As the mixer is running, add the dissolved gelatin to the cream and continue whipping until you get stiff peaks. Add it quickly, as the gelatin will cool when it hits the cream and it may get lumpy.

Step 3: Caramel

1. Making caramel is hard, so let’s not do it. Go to the grocery store and buy some Dulche de Leche. It is usually near the peanut butter.

Step 4: Assembly

1. Put your cream and caramel each into their own piping bag. Large tip for the cream, small for the caramel.
2. On a cake board or plate, pipe some cream so that your first meringue won't slide off.
3. Here are the layers, listed top to bottom. Build yours from the bottom up of course.

caramel
cream
caramel
meringue
cream
caramel
meringue
cream
caramel
meringue

Basically you put pipe caramel onto each meringue, then pipe cream on top of that. finish with an extra layer of caramel on top.

Enjoy!