Dacquoise aux Noisettes

the hazelnut meringue cake of southwest France: crisp-edged, chewy-hearted discs of ground-hazelnut meringue layered with coffee or praline buttercream, named for the town of Dax

Origin: France

From the journey of Hazelnut.

The dacquoise takes its name from Dax, the spa town of the Landes in southwest France, and it belongs to the family of nut meringues that are amongst the most elegant creations of the French pastry kitchen. It is made by folding ground toasted nuts and a little sugar into a stiff meringue and baking it into discs that are crisp and lightly caramelised at the edge but keep a soft, chewy, almost marshmallow heart, quite unlike the dry, brittle meringue of a pavlova. These nut discs are then layered with cream, most classically a coffee or praline buttercream, whose smooth richness plays against the chewy, nutty meringue. Hazelnut and almond are both used, and often together, but the hazelnut dacquoise, made with the toasted, ground nut, has the deepest and most fragrant flavour. It is a component as much as a cake, the foundation of many a composed gâteau and entremets, but served simply as layered discs of hazelnut meringue and coffee cream, dusted with icing sugar, it is a refined and grown-up dessert, and one of the loveliest ways to eat the hazelnut.

Ingredients

Dacquoise

150 g hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and finely ground
5 whole egg whites, at room temperature
150 g caster sugar
60 g icing sugar
1 pinch salt

Buttercream

250 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp strong espresso, cooled (or 100 g hazelnut praline paste)

Decoration

30 g chopped toasted hazelnuts, to decorate

Method

Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Line two baking sheets with parchment and mark a 20 cm circle on each. Sift the ground hazelnuts with the icing sugar. Whisk the egg whites with the salt to soft peaks, then add the caster sugar gradually, whisking to a firm, glossy meringue.
Gently fold the hazelnut-and-icing-sugar mixture into the meringue in two or three additions, keeping as much air as possible.
Spread or pipe the mixture into the two marked circles, level the tops, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until pale gold, crisp on the surface, and just set. Leave to cool completely on the sheets.
Make the buttercream: beat the softened butter with the sifted icing sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the cooled espresso (or the praline paste) until smooth.
Set one hazelnut disc on a plate, spread or pipe over the buttercream, and top with the second disc. Dust with icing sugar and scatter with chopped toasted hazelnuts. Chill for an hour to set, then bring back to cool room temperature to serve.

Notes

Ground almonds, or a mix of hazelnut and almond, can replace the hazelnuts, and the dacquoise is often built with more than two layers for a taller cake. The filling is a matter of taste: coffee buttercream is the classic, praline buttercream the most hazelnut-forward, and a chocolate ganache or a whipped chocolate cream all work beautifully with the nut. The baked discs keep for a day in an airtight tin before filling.

The Gastrographer

Name: Dacquoise aux Noisettes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 150 g hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and finely ground; 5 whole egg whites, at room temperature; 150 g caster sugar; 60 g icing sugar; 1 pinch salt; 250 g unsalted butter, softened; 150 g icing sugar, sifted; 2 tbsp strong espresso, cooled (or 100 g hazelnut praline paste); 30 g chopped toasted hazelnuts, to decorate

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control