Chocolate cherry dacquoise
Unveil this exquisite cake layered with poached cherries, dark chocolate cream and almond meringue for an extra special dessert.
- 50 mins preparation
- 45 mins cooking
- Serves 10
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Ingredients
Poached cherries
- 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
- 1/2 cup (125ml) white wine
- 500 gram cherries, pitted, halved
Chocolate cherry dacquoise
- 1 cup (120g) almond meal (ground almonds), toasted lightly
- 1 1/4 cup (274g) caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon wheaten cornflour
- 6 egg whites
- cream of tartar
Chocolate cream
- 200 gram dark eating or couverture chocolate, chopped (not compound buds for melting)
- 1 3/4 cup (430ml) thickened cream
Method
Chocolate cherry dacquoise
- 1To make poached cherries, combine the sugar and wine in a medium saucepan. Stir over heat, without boiling, until the sugar dissolves. Add cherries; bring to the boil. Simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until the cherries are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cherries from liquid to a medium heatproof bowl. Boil the cherry liquid, uncovered, for about 2 minutes or until thickened slightly. Pour the liquid over the cherries in the bowl; cool to room temperature.
- 2Preheat the oven to moderately slow (160°C/140°C fan-forced). Mark a 22cm circle on 3 sheets of baking paper. Place the paper, upside down, on lightly greased oven trays.
- 3Combine almond meal, 1/4 cup of the caster sugar and cornflour in a small bowl.
- 4Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar; beat until dissolved between additions. Gently fold in almond meal mixture in two batches.
- 5Spoon meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted wihte a plain 1.5 cm tube. Pipe mixture evenly in a spiral inside the circles on each prepared tray. Bake in a moderately slow oven for about 30 minutes or until meringue is dry to touch. Turn off oven; cool meringues in oven with door ajar.
- 6To make chocolate cream, place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat; cool chocolate to room temperature. Whip 1 1/4 cups (300ml) of the cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cooled chocolate in three batches. Gently fold in remaining unwhipped cream - this will keep the chocolate cream soft.
- 7Place one meringue disc on a serving plate; spread with half the chocolate cream, then top with half the well-drained poached cherries. Repeat layers, ending with a meringue disc. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
- 8To serve, dust with sifted cocoa or icing sugar; top with extra cherries, if desired.
Notes
Not suitable to freeze. Chocolate suitable to microwave.