Testing - Gâteau de Noix de Brézel (sic) de Grand-Maman Noël

I'm happily excited about deciphering this recipe from my grandmother. She died almost 10 years before I was born, so I never got to know her, but from what I understand she was a consummate cook, trained to be a 'lady' in mid-century Québec society. I'm excited because it's a little link with my grandmother, and the fact that I was able to decipher the recipe means that I've learned so much about cooking and baking! The transcription of her recipe, in French, is here.

1 - Finally made this! How interesting! And I made it for my mother's 80th birthday. The batter for the cake is heavy and thick like that of my apple cake or plum cake, and the frosting is baked on along with the cake! I was worried that it wouldn't rise because I beat it right to the end with an electric beater, but it did. However, it was also very dry. Because my niece who is lactose intolerant was going to partake, I substituted the butter for coconut oil and the milk for soy milk. To try to improve the moistness, next time I will:
   a. fold in the wet mixture and dry mixture instead of beating it to work the batter as little as possible.
   b. try it with the original butter and milk
   c. watch for doneness - I baked for the recommended 45 minutes but that may have been too much. I now know that the meringue remains quite thin, I can test with a toothpick for the cake.

Sponge
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (or 1/4 cup lard, 1/4 cup butter - does this make a difference?)
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk

French Meringue Icing
2 egg whites, room temperature
Pinch salt
Pinch cream of tartar
1 (or 1/2 cup) cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup Brazil nuts or pecans (should they be coarsely crushed or chopped?)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325F.
2. Sift flour after measuring. Mix in salt and baking powder and set aside.
3. Cream the butter until pale, then progressively add the sugar.
4. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating each one in well before adding the next.
5. Add the vanilla.
6. Alternate adding the milk and flour is small quantities until it is completely mixed and smooth.
7. Line the bottom of two cake pans with parchment paper and grease.
8. Pour in the cake batter and apply the meringue

French Meringue Icing

1. Whisk the egg whites with the salt until you're well into the foamy stage. Sprinkle over the cream of tartar and whisk again until you achieve soft peaks. 
2. While whisking, slowly sprinkle over the sugar until you achieve stiff peaks, then add the vanilla.
3. Spread the meringue over the cake batter and evenly sprinkle with the nuts.
4. Bake in hot oven for about 45 minutes.
5. Allow the cakes to cool completely in their pans before attempting to turn out. The topping will be delicate. be careful as you remove the paper from the bottoms.
6. Layer the cake, and serve with whipped cream (or other icing, but what kind of icing would be good?