My first exposure to a dacquoise was via Martha Stewart. This year on her Christmas issue, there was a gorgeous dacquoise surrounded by gingerbread townhouses. I did attempt it, and while the dacquoise came out just fine. . .I can’t say the same for the gingerbread houses. I am just not Martha Stewart I suppose.
But a dacquoise is one of those desserts that you should make just once in your life. It is a French dessert that consists of several layers of nut flavored meringue, filled with sweetened whipped cream or buttercream. It is always served chilled and is often served with fruit. While it sounds complicated, it’s much easier than you might think!
Almond Dacquoise Cake
You will need:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground blanched almonds
1/2 cup superfine sugar
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 large egg whites
Directions:
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush with 1 tablespoon butter; coat with flour. Set aside.
Whisk together the almonds, 1/4 cup superfine sugar, and the confectioners’ sugar; set aside. Beat the egg whites with a whisk until soft peaks form. One tablespoon at a time, slowly add remaining 1/4 cup superfine sugar; continue to beat until mixture forms stiff peaks. Fold in the nut mixture. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet until it is 1/4 inch thick.
Bake the dacquoise 2 hours; then turn off the oven, and leave inside until completely cooled, about 30 minutes.
Using a serrated knife, carefully cut dacquoise into three 4-by-7-inch pieces. Wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap, and set aside. Save the leftover dacquoise for another use. The dacquoise can be made several days in advance and stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
To make whipped buttercream frosting you will need:
1 cup butter, softened
6-7 cups confectioner’s sugar
6-8 Tbsp. half and half cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions:
Cream butter until very fluffy. Add part of the sugar and salt and beat again. Continue adding sugar and cream in small batches, alternately, beating until very fluffy. Stir in vanilla.
To Assemble:
Carefully place a layer of dacquoise on a cake plate, then spread a moderately generous amount of frosting over the dacquoise. Repeat layers and garnish with fresh raspberries.
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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