Receta Pecan Dacquoise Cake
Last Christmas, I was gifted with one of my darling boys (looking over my shoulder at the mo) gave me The Boy Who Bakes by Edd Kimber, winner of the first Great British Bake Off series on BBC2.
It's
only now that I have gotten around to making some of the recipes from
the book and I'm wondering why I left it so long! The book is full of
fabulous bakes including a Gianduja Dacquoise Cake. 'Gianduja is a
hazelnut and chocolate confection from Turin' says Edd, and the cake is
his version of a layered ice cream cake with hazelnuts and chocolate.
As I didn't have any hazelnuts to hand, I used pecans instead and the result was very
good - hence 'pecan' dacquoise cake. I've also made it again using a
home-made coffee ice cream and all I can say is it was gone in one
sitting (not just by me I hasten to add!!)
This is an
easy show stopping dessert that you can make ahead of time, just put it
in the freezer until you need it. The chocolate sauce only takes 2
minutes to make and your guests will think you slaved away all day.
Pecan Dacquoise Cake
Adapted from The Boy Who Bakes
Notes: I used pecans instead of hazelnuts and roasted them first for extra flavour. I also made this again with coffee ice cream and it was really good.
- 3 large egg whites
- 150g caster sugar
- 124g roasted pecans, finely chopped
- 350g vanilla or coffee ice cream, softened
- 100g good plain chocolate
- 140ml double cream
- Pre-heat
- the oven to 110º C. Line two baking trays with baking parchment and
- draw a circle on the pieces of parchment, use a 23cm round plate or tin
as a template. Turn the paper over so the circle marks are underneath.
Roast the pecans under the grill, keeping an eye on them as they will burn easily, finely chop them when they have cooled down.
To
make the dacquoise, put the egg whites into a clean, grease-free bowl
and whisk until soft peaks are formed. Add the sugar slowly, about a
couple of tablespoons at a time and beat until the meringue is stiff and
glossy,
Gently fold in 100g of the chopped pecans. Put
a large plain nozzle into a piping bag and fill the bag with the
meringue mixture. Starting in the middle, pipe a spiral onto each
parchment tray, finishing just inside the circle. Bake for 2 hours or
until pale and crisp, then remove from the oven and leave to cool on
wire racks.
To assemble the cake, place one of the
meringues into a cake tin and spread the softened ice cream on top,
right to the edges. Place the other meringue on top and press down
gently. Cover and freeze for about 2 hours, until the ice cream has
firmed up.
When ready to serve, remove the cake from
the freezer and leave while you make the chocolate sauce. Put the
chocolate and cream into a small microwavable bowl and heat for 30
seconds. Stir the cream into the chocolate until smooth - you may need
to microwave for another 15-30 seconds. Alternatively, you can do this
in a small pan on the hob.
Put the cake onto a serving
plate and pour the sauce over, spreading it so it drips down the sides
of the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans and serve
immediately.
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