Raspberry Chocolate Dacquoise Cake

A slice Chocolate Raspberry Dacquoise Cake on a black plate, in front of the entire cake it was cut from. Layers of meringue, cream and raspberry coulis are evidentand the slice is topped with fresh fruit and chocolate flakes

5 from 3 votes

Raspberry Chocolate Dacquoise Cake

A labour of love, Chocolate Raspberry Dacquoise Cake is undoubtedly a show stopper of a dessert. Layers of chewy & nutty meringue hide a filling of fresh raspberries, chocolate ganache and raspberry coulis. Bound together in a pretty raspberry cream this in one dessert not to pass up.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 482kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Ingredients

For the Dacquoise Layers

5 Egg Whites (200g)
125 g/ 4.5 oz Golden caster sugar
125 g/ 4.5 oz Light muscovado sugar
⅛ teaspoon Cream of tartar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Cornflour (cornstarch)
60 g/ 2 oz Almonds (blanched)
60 g/ 2 oz Pistachios (shells removed)
60 g/ 2 oz Hazelnuts (blanched)

For the Raspberry Coulis

300 g/ 10.5 oz Fresh raspberries
3 tablespoon Caster sugar

For the Chocolate Ganache

60 g/ 2 oz Dark chocolate
100 ml/ 3.5 fl oz Double (heavy) cream

For the Raspberry Cream

600 ml/ 20 fl oz Double (heavy) cream)
2 tablespoon Amaretto
3 tablespoon Icing (confectioners) sugar

Decoration

150 g/ 5 oz Fresh raspberries
3 tablespoon 3 tablespoon toasted almond flakes
2 tablespoon 2 tablespoon chocolate flakes

Instructions

Make the Raspberry Coulis

Put the raspberries into a medium saucepan with the sugar and cook gently until they begin to break down
Turn up the heat and boil rapidly until the sauce reaches 100-105C (212-221F)
Take off the heat and pass through a fine-meshed metal sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and divide the remaining sauce equally between 2 bowls
Set aside to cool

Make the Chocolate Ganache

Chop the chocolate and place in a microwave-proof bowl with the cream
Cook in the microwave on high for 30-60 seconds until the cream is hot and the chocolate is beginning to melt
Let stand for 1 minute then whisk the ingredients together until smooth and glossy
Set aside to cool

Make the Dacquoise LAyers

Preheat the oven to 110C (230F / GM¼)Cut 3 rectangles of baking parchment to fit 3 baking sheets. Draw an 8-inch circle onto each piece of parchment
Mix the sugars together in a bowl
Put the nuts into the bowl of a food processor along with the cornflour. Pulse until the nuts are finely chopped - a few larger chunks of nut remaining in the mix is fine
Put the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until soft peaks form
Add the cream of tartar and continue to whisk
Leave the stand mixer running and add the sugar, 1 spoonful at a time until all of the sugar has been added. This process will take around 5 minutes, but the meringue will be a much better texture than if you add it all in one go. At the end, the meringue should be thick and glossy
Pour in the vanilla extract and whisk until combined
Turn off the mixer. Using a spatula, fold the ground nuts gently into the meringue
Divide the nutty meringue between the three circles. I find it easier to achieve a neat circular shape if I pipe a line of meringue around the edge of each circle before spooning the rest into the centre and spreading it out to the piped edge with a palette knife. Use a wide, plain nozzle for the piping
Place the meringue discs into the oven to bake for 1 hour 15 minutes - rotate the baking sheets halfway through to ensure the meringues bake evenly
After the 75 minutes are up, try to peel the parchment away from each meringue disc - it should easily come away. If it does not, allow to cook for 15 more minutes and test again
Once cooked, let cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar

Make the Raspberry Cream

Once the meringue discs have cooled completely start to whip the cream with the icing sugar until it just begins to hold its shape
Add the Amaretto and one bowl of the raspberry coulis that was made earlier
Continue to whip until the cream is well mixed and holds its shape firmly. Take care not to overwhip the cream though

Assembling the Cake

Set aside 16-18 raspberries for the top of the cake
Place a small dab of raspberry cream in the centre of a cake stand or serving plate and lay one meringue disc on top
Take a heaped tablespoon of raspberry cream and spread it to the edges using a palette knife
Rip half of the remaining raspberries up and scatter over the cream
From the remaining bowl of raspberry coulis, take half and drizzle it over the cream and raspberries
Next drizzle half of the chocolate ganache over the top - it may be easier to pipe the ganache over if it has thickened beyond the drizzling stage
Top with another meringue disc
Repeat steps 3-6 above with the remaining ingredients
Place the final layer of meringue on top
Reserve ⅓ of the remaining raspberry cream for piping decorations on the top of the cake and use the rest of the cream to cover the top and sides of the cake
Press the toasted almond flakes around the side of the cake
Pipe a pretty design onto the top of the cake, adorn with the fresh raspberries and scatter the chocolate flakes into the centre
Cover carefully and transfer to the fridge to rest for 24 hours
Remove from the fridge 1 hour before serving to take the chill off the cake
Leftovers should be stored in the fridge and eaten within 3 days

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