This is a slight twist on the traditional Dacquoise recipe, which is made with almond. However, I didn't have any almonds, so I used walnuts instead! If you want to stick to the traditional recipe, feel free- just replace the walnuts in this recipe with almonds. This is another recipe from Step by Step Desserts and Confections.
You'll need
Meringue:
- 60g toasted, slivered walnuts
- 6 egg whites
- 225g caster sugar
Chocolate Butter Cream:
- 450g icing sugar
- 90g softened butter
- 1/4 cup milk (plus extra)
- 45g cocoa powder
To Decorate:
- 600g strawberries
- 450ml whipped cream
Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius.
Blend the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground.
On the wrong sides of 4 sheets of baking paper, draw circles of 20cm diameter. Set these aside.
Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, and then add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating between additions, until you have stiff and glossy peaks.
Fold the ground walnuts into the meringue mixture.
Spoon one quarter of the walnut meringue mixture onto each of the baking sheets, filling the circle.
Bake the meringue layers for one hour, ensuring they get even browning (ie, switch the top and bottom trays after half an hour). Then cool the meringues on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, before loosening them and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. You'll need to be a bit gentle, as if the meringues are still too warm they'll be a bit sticky.
While the meringue layers are cooling, beat the ingredients for the Chocolate Butter Cream until smoothly combined. You may have to add extra milk to get the right spreadable consistency.
Hull and thinly slice 3/4 of the strawberries.
Place the first meringue layer on your serving plate, and spread over about 1/3 of the butter cream. Evenly cover with a layer of the sliced strawberries. Repeat this process with the next two meringue layers.
Place your final meringue layer on top of the stack, and decorate with any remaining Chocolate Butter Cream and the whipped cream. Let the Dacquoise sit in the fridge for around 4 hours to allow the meringue layers to soften and become more cake-like.
When you're ready to serve, add the final decorative touches with the remaining strawberries, and then devour the entire thing! Or, I suppose you could share it too. If you like.
