Dacquoise is a dessert cake made of layers of almond-hazelnut meringue and whipped cream or butter. It can also refer to the meringue itself and is often combined with flavors like raspberry, caramel, and coffee. The cake is assembled with separate layers of meringue, cream, and toppings, and can be shaped into discs or rectangles. The final construction is important for an aesthetically pleasing look.
A dacquoise is a kind of dessert cake. The standard version consists of layers of almond-hazelnut meringue with whipped cream or butter. Dacquoise can also refer to the meringue itself. Many different types of dessert cakes include the term dacquoise in the name and usually identify other major flavors as well. Common flavor combinations include raspberry, caramel, and coffee.
The construction of almost all dacquoise cakes is very similar. Layers of meringue, cream, and other toppings are all prepared separately and then assembled onto the presentation plate, sometimes with a coating of frosting. The resulting cake is then cooled and served. While the dacquoise is typically called a cake due to its shape and appearance, its texture and flavor are said to have more in common with candy. Even though most of these cakes bear some resemblance to one another, there is no guarantee that any dessert called a dacquoise will taste like any other due to the relative flexibility of the term.
To make a dacquiose, the first step is to make the meringue, which is mostly egg whites and sugar. Meringue layers are made by piping meringue disks onto buttered parchment using a pastry bag. These discs are then baked in the oven until dry to the touch. After the oven has cooled down with the discs inside, they are set aside. While discs are the most popular shape for this cake, there are other popular shapes like rectangles as well.
Which cream is used between the meringue disks depends largely on the baker. Buttercream, which is a popular and traditional choice, is usually made from butter, sugar, and eggs. Other flavorings can be added to the buttercream as a last step. Or many other soft and creamy fillings can be used in place of buttercream. The cream can be left completely in favor of another soft ingredient.
Ganache is one of the more popular additions to these two basic components. Roasted nuts or melted chocolate are also often used to decorate. Once the components are finished, the layering is typically designed to create an aesthetically pleasing look once the cake has been cut. It’s important to have a layer of filling between layers of meringue, so the amount of filling needed depends on how many layers of meringue will be used. The attractiveness of the finished cake depends much more on the cleanliness of the final construction than on the methods used to make the components, and so this could be considered the most important step when making the dacquoise.
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