Strawberry Meringue Cake

-LEMON KIRSCH SYRUP-
1/3 c Water
1/4 c Sugar
2 tb Lemon juice
2 tb Kirsch

-STRAWBERRY FILLING-
2 pt Strawberries
1/2 c Sugar
1 tb Lemon juice
1 tb Kirsch
2 tb Cornstarch

-COVERING MERINGUE-
6 lg Egg whites
1 c Sugar
1/4 c Toasted, sliced almonds

GENOISE LAYER: Preheat oven to 350F. Break eggs into bowl of electric
mixer. Whisk in salt, then sugar. Place bowl over pan of simmering water.
Whisk until just lukewarm. Whip by machine until cold and increased in
volume, about 4-5 minutes. Mix cake flour and cornstarch. Sift over the egg
foam in 3 or 4 additions, folding in with a rubber spatula. Pour batter
into buttered and paper-lined 10-inch round pan and level. Bake about 30
minutes until well-risen, golden and beginning to shrink from sides. Unmold
immediately and cool on a rack. Divide the cooled Genoise into 3 layers
with a sharp, serrated knife. Place 1 layer on a cardboard or platter and
moisten with 1/3 of the syrup, using a brush. Spread with 1/2 the filling.
Repeat with the second layer. Place the last layer on and moisten with the
remaining syrup.

LEMON KIRSCH SYRUP: For the syrup, combine water and sugar in a small pan,
bring to a boil and cool. Stir in lemon juice and kirsch.

STRAWBERRY FILLING: For the filling, reserve 6 of the best strawberries as
a decoration. Rinse, hull and slice the remaining berries. Place 1/4 of the
berries in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to a boil. Combine lemon
juice, kirsch and corn- starch and stir into the strawberry mixture off the
heat. Return to a boil, stirring and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cool
and stir in remaining sliced berries.

COVERING MERINGUE: Preheat oven to 400F and set rack in the middle level.
Combine egg whites and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk over
simmering water until egg whites are hot and sugar is dissolved. Beat on
medium speed until cold and risen in volume, but not dry. Spread cake with
meringue. Pipe decoration on top of cake, using a pastry bag fitted with a
star tube. Press toasted, sliced almonds against the side of the cake.
Place the cake on a cookie sheet and color the meringue in the oven for
about 3-4 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool. Decorate with
the reserved strawberries.