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Boccone dolce means “sweet mouthful.” It is a classic Italian dessert. It’s similar to our Himmelstorte Recipe but the Boccone Dolce is a cake without any cake. Instead, it’s made up of three crunchy meringue layers, chocolate, cream, berries, and more berries. Each slice is drizzled with a berry syrup. Oh my gosh! It’s 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 sister’s 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
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
Preheat the Oven to 200 °F.
1. Draw three 9 1/2″ circles with a pen on parchment paper, then flip the paper over so you aren’t placing meringue over ink. Use a pen so you can still see the circle through the paper.
2. Beat the 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 at 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.
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 shortly 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 the 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 the remaining whipped cream and topping with berries and more chocolate if desired.
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.
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?
Boccone Dolce Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Boccone Dolce Cake Ingredients:
For the Berry Syrup:
- 2-4 cups fresh or thawed frozen strawberries
- 1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar, or to taste
Frosting Ingredients:
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
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 a pen so you can still see the circle through the paper.
How to Make Boccone Dolce Cake:
- Beat the 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 at 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
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.
Hi Natasha!
What temperature do you recommend for a gas oven?
And what racks do I have to place the layers so they don’t burn on the sides? Middle or upper rack?
I would still use the same temperature. I put mine in the middle of the oven.
I baked my cakes for 6 hours at 200*. I’m not sure why liquid oozed out of it though. It browned and hardened. It looks like sugar syrup. Yours didn’t do that. 🤷🏼♀️ I’m going to scrape it off the top since you won’t be able to see it once the cake is decorated.
It sounds like the sugar may not have been fine enough. Once it melts and weeps out of the meringue it causes it to “cook” and “caramelize making that brown appearance. Humidity plays a huge roll in this also. Making this on a non rainy low humidity day helps!
I had this exact, same experience. Sugar oozed out all over the cookie sheet and the merengue deflated. There is no way I can peel the parchment paper off the bottom of the merengue — it’s stuck like glue.
I baked it for 6 hours at 180 (our gas oven runs a bit hot).
I used super-fine baker’s sugar and room-temperature eggs. It looked perfect when it was whipped — very stiff. I’m flummoxed by this. Living in Oregon, there aren’t a lot of dry days in the winter, but it was a dry day when I baked it.
Hi CeeBee, the hot oven is definitely a culprit to the sugar melting before the pavlova set, I wish I could be more helpful but pavlova can be very finicky, even a speck of yolk getting into the egg white could result in it not properyl setting. It sounds like you’re doing your best on making this during a dry day.
Where did you get the mini pitcher for the strawberry glaze?
I know it doesn’t help you one bit but this one came from a garage sale. lol. 🙂 I love garage sale treasures. I have seen similar ones at Cost Plus World Market and purchased another small one with a lid at Fred Meyer.
Hi Natasha. I would really like to make this cake but is there any way that you can increase the heat in the oven and bake the layers for less time?
Hi Mari, that is tricky since increasing the heat can cause the cakes to discolor before they dry out fully inside. I have tested different heat settings and found this one to be the most effective.
Hello Natasha! I really want to make this cake (the raving reviews convinced me). I want to make it for a ski trip that’s coming up.. you noted that it tastes best right after assembly. .. so if I was to pre make everything and assemble the next day (I won’t have any fancy appliances to use at the resort).. would it be possible to do this? Or not worth the efforts?
Hi Ella, my biggest concern is that the meringue layers need to stay dry at room temperature, away from moisture. If you can transport it at room temperature and keep it dry (without humidity), it will work. You can add the chocolate to the layers and I would suggest spreading the chocolate on rather than drizzling if you are traveling with it. Also, you can whip the cream and keep it refrigerated in a separate container then if it gets soft, just before serving and adding it to the layers, you can rewhip it to the correct stiffness using a whisk.
This cake is delicious!!! I’m making it for the second time because it was such a hit with my family last time I made it.
Also, I did use the egg yolks this time to make crapes 🙂 I usually make a big batch using 10 eggs, so this time I used the 10 egg yolks and 5 more eggs. The crapes were a little more yellow then usually but still just as good.
I’m so glad you loved it enough to make it twice! 🙂
If you bake the meringue with 2 baking sheets, side by side in the oven, do you still have to bake them for 5-6 hours?
Hi Fae, you may be able to get away with the lower end at 5 hours but it does need that full time to completely dry out in the center.
My meringue came out really soft from the oven. I did everything by the recipe and I’m confused why that might have happened. I’ve made this cake before and it always turned out wonderful, but this time it was soft and chewy. Is there anything I might’ve done to make it that way?
Hi Kate, If everything else was the same as before, I suspect it might be a problem with your oven? Is it possible the door wasn’t closed all the way while baking? Have you had problems with your oven or heat loss with other recipes recently?
It’s possible it might be the oven. I’ve cooked it in my oven before but this is the first time cooking it at my moms. It was quite disappointing, but everyone ate it anyway😋 I’m going to try it again later and see if the oven is really the problem.
“Does anyone know what I can do with all of those egg yolks hanging out in the fridge?”
Yes! Do you have doggies? Scramble them, let them cool, then add them to a dinner or two. They will LOVE you for it 🙂
Make flan. All the yolks with 1.5 cup reg milk, one can condensed milk, 1tsp vanilla, lemon zest.
I pour about quarter cup of maple syrup on bottom of 8inch pan then pour mixture and bake in pan with water for 1 hour at 350deg. Trust me. I even put wild blueberries preserves on bottom with bluberry syrup instead of maple. Really yummy.
This cake looks DELICIOUS! I really want to try it. All those raspberries and strawberries. Yum!!
It is really delicious! Please let me know what you think of the recipe Olga!
could i make small layer versions of this,like the size of a muffin,and how much would i need to put them in the oven for,and what degrees?
Kristina, I haven’t tried it so can’t really offer a recommendation. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
Made the cake and it came out wonderful! Thank u!
I am planning to make it again and wanted to see if I can bake the meringues two days before and if yes…how do I store them?
Hi Jules yes that would work fine since the layers are completely dried out in the oven. Once they are at room temperature, cover them loosely in a plastic bag and store in a dry room temperature place away from any outside draft (not in a humid area and not in the refrigerator). I’m so glad you liked the cake!! 🙂
you can use all the egg yolks to make leche flan
Thank you for sharing! I’ve never tried that before. Do you have a good recipe you could share?
Make the caramel sauce using brown sugar and pour in the pan (I usually use a medium sized loaf pan). My recipe usually calls for 3 pans.
Swirl the caramel sauce to cover the sides of the pan – leave about half an inch. Set aside.
Beat 8 eggs for about 2 minutes, add 3 cans of condensed milk (400 grams ea) and 3 cups of fresh milk. Beat for 5 more minutes at low speed.
Since you will be using just yolk, you can pour the mixture directly in the prepared pans, if you are using also white, you have to strain the egg mixture first. This will ensure that your flan will come out soft and not chewy.
Pour the mixture in the prepared pans.
The caramel sauce should have hardened by now.
You can either steam it for an hour (cover the pan with a cheesecloth to absorb the steam water) or bake in the oven at 375F for 45minutes – 1 hour (put a pan of water at the bottom shelf so as not to dry out the flan too much).
This actually depends on the oven, so try to check it after 45 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center. When it comes out clean, turn off the oven. When I am doing other things, and the toothpick still hasn’t come out clean but almost, I turn off the oven and just keep the flan in the oven for another hour. It will still get cooked but it will not burn even if you forget to take it out after an hour.
To serve, let it cool down, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan, put a plate on top and turn the pan over.
I prefer serving it after a few hours in the fridge.
Enjoy!
Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
Can i put the chocolate drizzle on the meringue and then leave it covered until I assemble it…or do I need to do it right before assembly?
Hi Jules, yes the chocolate firms up and won’t affect the cake layers. It’s important to put the frosting on just before serving and if you want the cake to stay firm longer, you can spread the chocolate onto the layer instead of drizzle to create more of a barrier, but either way, yes you can add the chocolate earlier.
Hello Natasha,
When I was making this cake, I did everything step by step like you instructed. My egg whites were room temp and I measured in a cup to make sure I had the exact amount. After 7 minutes of high speed, my meringue was a bit less stiff than what yours looked like. We have the same mixer. I still put it in the oven but just wondering why it could have been less stiff?
Hi Julie, I am using a 6 Qt stand mixer – which may be incorporating air more effectively. Also, humidity in the room might affect the outcome. Are you in a very humid climate?
I made this beautiful cake for my husbands birthday, and this being the first cake I’ve ever baked, I would say it turned out amazing. The Meringue is so sweet melts in your mouth. I would defiantly recommend eating with the strawberry syrup, it makes the cake much lighter and refreshing. This cake has to be eaten within 2 hours but that’s not a problem, trust me ;).
Thanks for sharing such an awesome review! It put a huge smile on my face 😀
Hi Natasha! Can you use other fruits (such as mangoes) with this recipe. Berries are not abundant where I live since I live in a tropical country. Thanks in advance
Yes, mangoes would be delicious in this cake!
Could you please leave the old recipe on here? The new one doesn’t turn out as good. Thank you! 🙂 we love your site and always use it.
Thanks,
Angie
Hi Angie, the best way I could think to do this is to look up a time machine screenshot of my recipe from May 2016. 🙂 I hope this is what you’re looking for (the original recipe)!
So do I bake for 5 or 6 hours?? It’s unclear… Your instructions have 2 different times:)
Hi Sveta – it is 6 hours. I’m not sure why it showed 5 for the baking time at the top of the print friendly but it is 6. 🙂
Hi Natasha!
I would love to make this cake for my girl’s birthday, but I’d like to make the icing a little pink, like a very pale pink. Do you know how I can do that without using food coloring, but a more natural way? I thought about beet juice, but I’m skeeeered. Any advice?
Hi Iana, it is tough to add anything besides food coloring with a whipped cream frosting because anything natural usually requires additional liquid and will water down the frosting – this is why I don’t try to change the color of frostings unless they have a butter base. I can’t think of anything, maybe someone else has some ideas?
Try adding (mashed) raspberries into the frosting, I think that should change the color.
I use freeze dried fruit And I pulverize it . One of those small coffee grinders works great or a mortar and pestle! I fold it in gently once it’s fully whipped . Or you can buy edible food dust ( try amazon) it comes in lots of colors .
Hello, what r u doing with all the yolks? Thanks
Hi Tanya, if I’m feeling inspired, I might use the for custard or creme brûlée (although I usually use the whole egg in my creme brûlée) 🙂