The first time I learned about this lovely soft and crunchy base that can be used as a cake layer was in culinary school. I was taught that dacquoise (pronounced dak-waz) incorporated almond flour and the other similar version called japonais (pronounced zha-po-nay) used hazelnut flour…but it’s a little more complicated than that.
The term japonais is not only used for something that is made with hazelnut flour, but also an umbrella term for products that use nuts as a rule. To make it even more confusing, it is also a term that is used to describe something that is made ‘in the asian style’ because japonais (which means Japanese in French) is used to describe both the Japanese and Chinese styles of cooking…go figure!
So have I completely confused you now?
I was afraid of that…
Well, let’s switch gears and just talk about just how easy this is to make and also how equally delicious it is to use as a cake layer to create a unique textural difference in any type of layered cake or even cheesecake.
I didn’t have any almond flour but did have some whole almonds on hand, so almond meringue dacquoise it was going to be!
When grinding almonds you have to be a little careful. Nuts have a lot of natural oils, and if you grind the almonds by themselves you will have a clumpy, oily mess that will be hard to incorporate into the meringue. So, when grinding almonds you must add some sugar to absorb the oil that is released from the nut in the grinding process. I use a combination of both granulated and powdered sugars, but many people use the entire quantity of either granulated or powdered sugar. In some recipes you will see the French term TPT (Tant Pour Tant) which essentially means equal quantities of both nuts and sugar. The amount of sugar you use and the type will make a big difference in the final product. I find that a combination of both gives the perfect amount of crispiness on the outside and chewiness on the inside. Powdered sugar has a small amount of cornstarch in it and is ideal to use when grinding the nuts since it absorbs the oil perfectly, creating a nice fluffy flour that is easily incorporated into the meringue.
I decided to pour the batter into a half sheet pan and bake it then cut it into four pieces which I then layered with some chocolate buttercream, but you can use just about any type of filling you like, even a rich and creamy chocolate ganache. You can also pipe the meringue out into small round discs and then layer them with buttercream or your choice of filling for a great individual dessert. I guarantee that you will love this and it will be a taste experience unlike any other that you have had. It will melt in your mouth for a truly heavenly experience….
Dacquoise Cake
12 oz egg whites
12 oz sugar (6 oz powdered/6 oz granulated)
6 oz whole almonds
3 oz flour , sifted (some people use cornstarch)
chocolate buttercream or ganache
fruit for garnish
First make your buttercream or ganache and set aside. When making buttecream, I use my recipe for Italian meringue and add 2 sticks of butter once the meringue is cool. For vanilla buttercream, I use some good quality vanilla extract or some vanilla bean paste. For chocolate buttercream, I melt 4 ounces of a good quality dark chocolate and then add it after the butter has been incorporated.
Then scale out and sift the flour into a medium sized bowl and measure out everything else and add your almonds to the food processor. I add the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in separate bowls and before I begin grinding the almonds, I add 1/3 of the quantity of powdered sugar to the almonds. Once the first round is done, I sift this into the bowl with the other flour. Then I add the nuts back into the food processor with another 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and follow the process again. I find that it takes 3 times to get the almonds ground completely for this application. If you have just a few pieces left in your final sifting that are not very fine, that’s OK, just add it to the rest of the mixture. The reason I sift it at this point is to make sure that there are no really large pieces left, and when I see that there aren’t, I just add it in with the rest.
Next, you must make a French meringue which is the only leavening that is used in this to create the desired textured. I add the egg whites to the bowl of my stand mixer and begin whipping until it is white and frothy, then I add have of the granulated sugar. Continue whipping until the egg whites have reached stiff peaks then add the rest of the sugar and beat for a few more minutes until glossy.
Add half the meringue to the mixed flours and whisk in to lighten.
Then fold in the other half of the whites and pour the batter into a paper line half sheet tray and bake in a preheated 325°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
This is what you are looking for, a crisp shell on the outside.
If you choose to pipe out into small discs for individual desserts, you can do that too. Make sure to trace out an equal number of discs on one side of the parchment paper and then flip it over so that the pencil does not transfer to the meringue.
Allow the meringue to cool completely and then invert it onto another piece of parchment paper. Once you have decided on the filling you would like to use, spread a thin layer over the entire meringue and then cut it into 4 equal size pieces. Take each piece and add one on top of the other, then chill everything together. Once chilled, trim all of the edges then score and decorate the tops then slice into individual portions.
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