Meringue layers for this cake are baked separately. This means you should repeat the below steps three times.

Beat 3 egg whites with ⅓ of the overall sugar amount and 1 tsp of vinegar. When they get to soft peaks, gradually add sugar and beat to stiff peaks.

Place a cake ring on a sheet of baking paper. Generously oil the paper and the sides of the cake ring. This allows the paper to peel off more easily.

Spread the meringue inside and bake in the preheated oven at 150 °C [300 °F] for one hour.

Baked meringue should be slightly golden. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then use a knife to release it from the sides of the ring.

Set aside to cool completely. Gently peel off the baking paper from the bottom. Repeat all steps until you have three layers.

Make the buttercream while the meringue is in the oven.

Choose a heat-safe mixing bowl. Bring milk to a boil. Have water simmering in another saucepan.

Beat together egg yolks and sugar until they turn light and fluffy. Add flour, cornstarch, vanilla extract and a few tbsp of milk (from the overall amount).

Slowly pour hot milk in the egg yolk mixture while stirring all the time. This is called tempering and prevents the egg yolks from curdling.

Place the bowl over simmering water and continue stirring until the cream begins to thicken (4-5 minutes).

The cream is done when your whisk begins leaving tracks as you stir. Its consistency should be firmer than before but still runny.

Transfer the cream to another bowl to stop it from cooking further. Cover with cling film (so it actually touches the cream) and pop in the fridge to set.

Prepare the fruit. Slice the bananas and drizzle them with lemon juice. Peel, slice and half the kiwi fruits. If you’re using sour cherries from compote, drain and leave them on a kitchen paper so they dry off completely.

The general rule is to have two types of tart fruit and one sweet. But you can make Ledeni Vjetar with strawberries only, in which case you need 500 g of strawberries.

Cream the butter. Gradually add in the set cream, mixing in between to get a silky texture.

Whip the cream. Always use the whipping cream from the fridge. Also, chill the bowl and the whisks in the freezer for 5 minutes before you start. To further stabilize the cream, add 5 tbsp of powdered sugar when the cream starts to firm up. At the end, add 2 tsp of cornstarch: it won’t affect the taste and the cream will last at least 48 hours.

If you’re using the cake ring, assemble the cake inside. Follow this order of layers:

meringue, buttercream, bananas, whipped cream

meringue, buttercream, cherries, whipped cream

meringue, buttercream, kiwi fruit, whipped cream

This means you need to divide the cream in three parts but whipped cream into four because some goes on the sides too.

Unmold the cake and use the remaining whipped cream to coat the sides.

Leave in the fridge several hours or best overnight.

You can decorate the cake with more fruit on top, but I prefer the minimalist look. When the cake has chilled, I put another coat of whipped cream and pipe large roses on top.

Ledeni vjetar is best the following day but it can keep for 48 hours in the fridge.