Boccone Dolce has 3 crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream and plenty of berries. Drizzled with a berry syrup - this Boccone Dolce Cake is delicious! | natashaskitchen.com

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Boccone dolce means “sweet mouthful.” It is a classic Italian dessert. It’s a cake without any cake. This Boccone Dolce Cake has three crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream, berries and more berries. Each slice is drizzled with a berry syrup. Oh my gosh! Its the best of everything in one cake.

My friend Mila Ivanov sent me this wonderful recipe and I’m so glad she did! I made this for my sisters baby shower and it was a hit! There was a run on the cake and no slice was left behind. Mila, thank you so much!

Before you start, Watch how to make the Boccone Dolce:

P.S. Recipe updated 5/12/16 – reduced the amount of egg whites and sugar, added cream of tartar to stabilize and salt for flavor, increased mixing time to 7 minutes, rephotographed and also, added a super handy how-to video, all because I think you’re worth it! 🙂 

Boccone Dolce Cake Ingredients:

10 egg whites, room temp (about 1 1/3 cups + 1 Tbsp of egg whites)
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

Boccone Dolce Cake Recipe

For the Berry Syrup:

2-4 cups fresh or thawed frozen strawberries
1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar, or to taste

Frosting & Topping Ingredients:

3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet, or both)
1/2 lb strawberries
1 pint raspberries or other berries to decorate

Boccone Dolce Cake Recipe-2

Preheat the Oven to 200 °F.
1. Draw three 9 1/2 inch circles with pen on parchment paper then flip paper over so you aren’t placing meringue over ink. Use pen so you can still see the circle through the paper.

2. Beat Room Temp Egg whites with sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar for about 7 minutes on high speed in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or until stiff peaks form. Note: if they aren’t room temp, they will take much longer to beat.

3. Divide the egg white mix between the three circles on parchment paper. Form the three layers into about 1″ tall circles and shape them as evenly as possible. Flatten the top so the layers sit on top of each other easily when you assemble the cake.

4. Bake for 6 hours at 200˚F, rotating the pans every 2 hours for more even cooking (mine were on two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven). If any of your layers are still springy in the center after baking, turn off the oven and leave them in there another hour to fully dry out. Remove from oven, pull layers off the baking pans and cool to room temp.

Boccone Dolce Cake Recipe-9

How to Make Frosting:

1. Freeze the mixing bowl and whisk attachment for 15 minutes. The cream will form best if your bowl and whisk are super cold. Also, keep your heavy cream in the fridge until you are ready to use.

2. Beat 3 cups heavy whipping cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar for about 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.

Assembling Boccone Dolce Cake:

Assemble the cake shorty before serving. It is best eaten within 2 hours of assembling. 
1. Rinse and dry berries and slice strawberries the long way.

2. Melt chocolate according to package instructions. As soon as the chocolate is melted, spread it over the tops of each of three layers (see tip for success #2 below).

3. Place the first meringue layer on the platter you will be serving the cake on. Spread or pipe a little less than 1/3 of the frosting over the first layer. Place a layer of sliced strawberries over the frosting.

4. Repeat with the next two layers and decorate the top by piping remaining whipped cream and topping with berries and more chocolate if desired.

Boccone Dolce has 3 crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream and plenty of berries. Drizzled with a berry syrup - this Boccone Dolce Cake is delicious! | natashaskitchen.com

Serving the Cake:

The slices get a little messy and that’s ok! 🙂 Use a food processor or blender to pulse your thawed strawberries with 1 to 2 Tbsp sugar and drizzle over the top of each slice.

Boccone Dolce has 3 crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream and plenty of berries. Drizzled with a berry syrup - this Boccone Dolce Cake is delicious! | natashaskitchen.com

I’ve been bombarded with requests for this cake. Hope you enjoy it thoroughly!! Does anyone know what I can do with all of those egg yolks hanging out in the fridge?

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Boccone Dolce Cake Recipe

4.90 from 38 votes
Author: Natasha Kravchuk
A classic Italian cake - layers of crunch meringue, plenty of fresh berries, lightly sweetened whipped cream and of course, chocolate! Be sure to make the fruit syrup to serve which takes this over the top!
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 10 slices

Boccone Dolce Cake Ingredients:

  • 10 egg whites, room temp (about 1 1/3 cups + 1 Tbsp of egg whites)
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips, milk chocolate or semi-sweet, or both
  • 1/2 lb strawberries
  • 1 pint raspberries or other berries to decorate

For the Berry Syrup:

  • 2-4 cups fresh or thawed frozen strawberries
  • 1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar, or to taste

Frosting Ingredients:

Instructions

Prep:

  • Preheat the Oven to 200°F. Draw three 9 1/2 inch circles with pen on parchment paper then flip paper over so you aren't placing meringue over ink. Use pen so you can still see the circle through the paper.

How to Make Boccone Dolce Cake:

  • Beat Room Temp Egg whites with sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar for about 7 minutes on high speed in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or until stiff peaks form. Note: if they aren't room temp, they will take much longer to beat.
  • Divide the egg white mix between the three circles on parchment paper. Form the three layers into about 1" tall circles and shape them as evenly as possible. Flatten the top so the layers sit on top of each other easily when you assemble the cake.
  • Bake for 6 hours at 200˚F, rotating the baking pans every 2 hours for more even cooking (mine were on two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven). If any of your layers are still springy in the center after baking, turn off the oven and leave them in there another hour to fully dry out. Remove from baking pans and cool to room temp.

How to Make Frosting:

  • Freeze the mixing bowl and whisk attachment for 15 minutes. The cream will form best if your bowl and whisk are super cold. Also, keep your cream in the fridge until you are ready to whip it.
  • Beat 3 cups heavy whipping cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar for about 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.

Assembling the Cake:

  • Rinse and dry berries and slice strawberries the long way.
  • Melt chocolate according to package instructions. As soon as the chocolate is melted, spread it over the tops of each of three layers (see notes for tip #2).
  • Place the first meringue layer on the platter you will be serving the cake on. Spread or pipe a little less than 1/3 of the frosting over the first layer. Place a layer of sliced strawberries over the frosting.
  • Repeat with the next two layers and decorate the top by piping remaining whipped cream and topping with berries and more chocolate if desired.

Serving the Cake:

  • Use a food processor or blender to pulse your thawed strawberries with 1 to 2 Tbsp sugar and drizzle over the top of each slice.

Notes

Tips for Success:
1. Meringue layers take awhile to bake/dry out in the oven so feel free to make them the day before. Let cool to room temp and cover with cellophane on the counter overnight.
2. This cake should be assembled the day you are eating it and is BEST eaten within 2 hours of assembly since the frosting softens the meringue.
3. If you want the cake to stay crunchy longer, brush every layer (top and bottom) with melted chocolate. Once chocolate hardens, it will act as a barrier between the meringue and the cream resulting in a crunchier cake, making it last an extra hour or two at room temp. .
4. If you forget to bring your eggs to room temp, you can place egg whites in a bowl and set the bowl over luke-warm water for 5 to 10 minutes to bring them to room temp, giving them a swirl or two in the process.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Boccone Dolce Cake
Skill Level: Medium
Cost to Make: $$

 

Boccone Dolce has 3 crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream and plenty of berries. Drizzled with a berry syrup - this Boccone Dolce Cake is delicious! | natashaskitchen.com

Boccone Dolce has 3 crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream and plenty of berries. Drizzled with a berry syrup - this Boccone Dolce Cake is delicious! | natashaskitchen.com

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

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Comments

  • Stacey Christie
    December 21, 2023

    Love your Boccone Dolce!!
    My family insists I make it for dessert every year for Christmas since I started about 8 years now. They love it so much, and simply will not accept anything less!
    Thank you so much!

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      December 22, 2023

      You’re very welcome, Stacey!

      Reply

  • Shannon
    July 8, 2023

    Hi Natasha:
    I make this, using your meringue recipe with a bit less sugar, as I add a little sweet liquor, like raspberry into the berries. I also add about 1/4 cup whipping cream to the chocolate chips aftre melting them, to make the chocolate spread more easily. Your cake is much more beautiful than mine! And for the egg yolks, we are doing Christmas in July this year, so I’m making cut out butter Christmas tree cookies. So simple, 1 lb butter, mix with 1 cup sugar, add egg yolks one at a time, then add enough flour to hold the dough together for rolling, about 6 cups. That’s it. Roll and cut out cookies and bake about 10 minutes. These aren’t very sweet. They were my mother’s recipe and she specifically wanted the taste of the butter and egg yolks to be foreward. Really tasty and easy. Hope you find this useful.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 10, 2023

      Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Shannon!

      Reply

  • Natalya
    August 26, 2022

    Natasha,
    Do you think I would be able to stick a cake topper and candles into the top layer?
    Thanks

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      August 26, 2022

      Hi Natalya! A few candles should be fine, nothing too heavy. I think a cake topper would be fine as well depending on its size. It’s just a fragile cake.

      Reply

  • Eleonora
    April 14, 2022

    Hi Natasha,
    Can the layers be made two days in advance? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 14, 2022

      Hi Eleonora, you can make the layers a day in advance and keep them at room temperature.

      Reply

  • Irina
    October 7, 2021

    Natasha,
    Should I use “convection” or “bake” setting on me oven to make this cake? Also, opening the door and rotating cake layers during baking won’t deflate them, right?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      October 7, 2021

      HI Irina, no it won’t deflate them. They will be drying out at that point and the centers will be set enough not to collapse.

      Reply

  • V
    April 2, 2021

    Love this cake. First time making it my self. Natasha’s recipe was very detailed and easy to read and make. Thank you 😊

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      April 2, 2021

      You’re welcome! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.

      Reply

  • Renee
    January 29, 2021

    Hi Natasha,
    I know you usually add the nutritional information with your recipes but I dont see them here. Can you tell me the kcal/serving?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      January 30, 2021

      Hi Renee, we usually have the nutrition info for most savory recipes, but don’t have them for most desserts yet. We are slowly working on that.

      Reply

  • kate
    January 10, 2021

    love this dessert, one of my faves! for the remaining egg yolks, i usually salt cure them, then use them to grate over pasta, put in leafy green salads, and for other dishes (such as on toast spread with ricotta and topped with flat leaf parsley).

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 10, 2021

      Nice one! Thanks for sharing that with us, Kate.

      Reply

  • Irene Chao
    September 6, 2020

    I am wondering if I can use egg whites from a carton. Would you recommend that? This way I won’t deal with leftover yolks.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      September 6, 2020

      I Irene, I have not tried that yet to advise but I imagine that should work too. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.

      Reply

  • Josh
    February 4, 2020

    I’m hoping to make this for a big family event this coming weekend, but I’m totally flummoxed.

    You specify the circles on the parchment to be 9.5″. And it looks like you’re baking them on half-sheet pans. There is simply no way on earth I can get two 9.5″ circles on one sheet of parchment (which is 16 inches long, to fit in a standard half-sheet pan). Even staggered, there is no way. I’m wondering if your 9.5″ measurement is correct, because I’ve tripled-checked my calculations, and you cannot fit two 9.5″ circles into a 16″ x 13″ (half-sheet pan) space. It’s not even close.

    Check out https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/circles-within-rectangle-d_1905.html, where you can calculate how many circles of a given diameter you can fit into a space of whatever dimensions you specify.

    You can (just barely) do it with two 8.5″ circles, but not at all with two 9.5″ circles.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      February 4, 2020

      Hi Josh, I used a larger baking sheet. It was this baker’s big sheet or 3/4 sheet. You can make the rounds into 8.5″ circles, but you may have a small amount of leftover ‘batter’, or you can make them slightly taller and bake a little longer.

      Reply

      • Josh
        February 5, 2020

        Hi, Natasha,

        Thank you so much for the fast reply! I really thought I must be going crazy, trying to make it work with a standard half-sheet pan!

        The 3/4-sheet pan is very tempting and I just may have to purchase one (or two).

        Thanks again,
        Josh

        Reply

        • Natasha's Kitchen
          February 5, 2020

          You’re welcome Josh. Hope it all goes well!

          Reply

  • Marya
    June 21, 2019

    Natasha,
    Where can you buy cream of tartar because I can’t find it anywhere in any of my grocery stores. Also, can I substitute cream of tartar for lemon juice?
    Thank You

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 21, 2019

      Hi Marya, we find it in the baking or spice aisle. It is a white powder sold in a spice jar. It will still work without cream of tartar. I’ve made it without the cream of tartar before with good results but I do think the cream of tartar helps to make it more “fail proof.” If your whites are at room temp and you beat with sugar the same amount of time, you shouldn’t run into any issues. Another good test for when the meringue is ready is if you rub a little bit between your fingers, you should hardly feel any of the sugar grains – it should feel pretty smooth. I hope that helps! Enjoy!

      Reply

      • Marya
        June 22, 2019

        Natasha,
        Thank you so much for your help!! I appreciate it.

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          June 22, 2019

          You’re so welcome Marya!

          Reply

          • RACHMAH DALVIE
            March 23, 2021

            Hi Natasha
            Can I half this recipe?
            Thanks

          • Natasha's Kitchen
            March 23, 2021

            I haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.

  • Agnes
    June 18, 2019

    Can this recipe be halved?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      June 18, 2019

      Hi Agnes, I think that could work but you would have some challenges. I haven’t tested the cake that way so I wouldn’t be able to make any recommendations on thinner cake layers (baking times). Also, if you made the cake layers the same thickness and baked for the same amount of time, a cake half the size might be difficult to slice. I think it could work but would require some experimentation.

      Reply

  • Creshel
    May 10, 2019

    Hi! So I was wondering, if you can make this cake in a convection oven ?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      May 10, 2019

      Hi Creshel, I always make this in a conventional oven. I suspect it wouldn’t dry out properly on the inside and you might end up with gaps in the center if you speed dry it in a convection oven.

      Reply

  • Lou Darland
    December 20, 2018

    I recently had this dessert st Sardi’s but it was nothing like this recipe. It was a solid slice very white and creamy with whole frozen strawberries in the slice.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      December 20, 2018

      How interesting! Sounds beautiful! Thank you for sharing this with us!

      Reply

    • Bill G.
      January 1, 2021

      If you want the recipe that Sardis uses, get Vincent Price’s cookbook..the recipe is in there.

      Reply

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