By: Jill Mills Posted: Jan 2, 2026

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This Strawberry Meringue Cake is light, crisp, and creamy all at once. The meringue layers bake up airy and slightly chewy, with a delicate sweetness that pairs well with the rich whipped cream.

Strawberry meringue cake on a cake stand

There is so much to love about this strawberry meringue cake! Instead of the meringue being on top, like in a lemon meringue pie, the meringue itself is the “cake” layers. Between the meringue, you’ll find fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The fresh strawberries add brightness and a natural tart-sweet flavor and each bite combines crisp meringue, soft cream, and juicy berries for a clean, refreshing finish. This is a beautiful dessert for Valentine’s Day as well as any special occasion in the spring or summer!

Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Meringue Cake

Sweet, tart, and creamy. This cake has a beautiful balance of flavors and textures. Think airy, chewy meringue, sweet whipped cream, and tart strawberries in every bite.
Easy to make. Strawberry meringue cake requires time and patience, mostly because the process of cooking and cooling the meringue takes a few hours. But the actual process itself is easy – even if you’ve never made meringue before!
Stunning centerpiece. This dessert is one that deserves to be placed on the center of the table. The layers are so pretty once assembled and the strawberries and berries add a bright pop of color. Expect lots of compliments and requests for the recipe!

Overhead view of the top layer of strawberry meringue cake with strawberries, blueberries, and mint

Recipe Ingredients

Each layer of this cake requires just 3 ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.

Meringue Layers

Egg whites – It’s important to use egg whites separated from actual eggs, not carton egg whites as they don’t whip up as well. They should be at room temperature before starting.
Granulated sugar – Sugar helps stabilize the meringue.
Cornstarch – Cornstarch also acts as a stabilizer and prevents the egg whites from deflating or releasing liquid.

Whipped Cream Filling

Heavy whipping cream – Keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to start working.
Sugar – Sweetens the whipped cream.
Vanilla

Strawberry Filling

Strawberries – I’ve only tested this recipe with sliced fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries would likely release too much liquid when thawed.
Blueberries – I like to add blueberries on top for added color and contrast to the strawberries.
Mint leaves – I love to add fresh mint as a garnish. The flavor pairs nicely with the fresh fruit!

How To Make Strawberry Meringue Cake

As beautiful and fancy as this cake is, it’s actually surprisingly simple to make. The key is to have patience when making the meringue and letting it bake and cool slowly. The printable instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Meringue Layers

Prep. Preheat the oven to 250F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and trace three 8-inch circles.

Meringue whipped into peaks in a mixing bowl

Meringue piped in a circle on a baking sheet

Beat the egg whites. Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form. Then, begin adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time, until glossy stiff peaks form. (This usually takes 7-8 minutes.) Fold in the cornstarch and beat to incorporate.
Shape the meringue. Pipe (or spoon) the meringue into the circles. The exact thickness will depend on the piping tips, but mine were about a finger thick.
Bake. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The meringue should be dry to the touch.
Cool. Once it begins to crack, turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the meringues cool for an hour.

Whipped Cream Filling

Make the whipped cream. Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form.

Assemble the Cake

Whipped cream on top of a meringue cake layer

Strawberries on top of a layer of whipped cream

Arrange the first layer. Place one meringue layer on a serving plate. Top with a generous spread of whipped cream and scatter the whipped cream with strawberries.
Repeat. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of whipped cream. Top with whipped cream with strawberries and blueberries in a decorative pile or design.
Chill. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. This gives the layers a chance to soften slightly. Top with mint leaves just before serving.

Overhead view of fruit on top of strawberry meringue cake

Tips and Variations

Here are a few tips for making this strawberry meringue cake recipe – especially if this is your first time making meringue!

Pay attention to ingredient temperatures. The egg whites need to be room temperature to whip up for the meringue, but the heavy cream needs to stay cold.
Separating eggs. I like to use the egg shell for this. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites by carefully breaking the egg and rotating the yoke bake and forth between each broken shell piece over the bowl while the egg white falls into the mixture in the bowl.
Bake low and slow. The key to achieving crisp shells and soft, marshmallow center is slow baking. If you know your oven tends to run hot and bake quickly, reduce the starting temperature a bit.
Cool in the oven. Once the meringue is dry and starting to crack, turn the oven off, crack the door, and let the meringue cool in the warm oven. This also helps get that perfect texture and prevents cracking.
Use Cool Whip. The homemade whipped cream filling can easily be replaced by thawed Cool Whip.
Sweeten the strawberry filling. If your strawberries aren’t too sweet, you can macerate them with 2 tbsp of sugar for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
Topping. Consider adding a drizzle of chocolate sauce on top.

Strawberry meringue cake on a cake stand with one slice in front

Proper Storage

Strawberry meringue cake is best eaten the same day or within 24 hours — after that, the meringue will soften. Store covered in the fridge; don’t freeze (it ruins the texture).

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