Strawberry Mini Daquoises
A spoonful of this cake is absolute heaven: crunchy almond hazelnut meringue layers, sandwiched with fluffy chantilly vanilla cream and bursting with pockets of strawberry pieces and jam.
Ingredients
for the meringue layers
- 3/4 cup (80g) almonds blanched + toasted
- 1/2 cup (54g) hazelnuts toasted + skinned
- 1 tbsp (7g) cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp (1g) kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (140g) granulated sugar
- 4 (122g) egg whites room temperature, medium sized eggs
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
for the chantilly cream
- 2 cups (480g) heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups (375g) greek yogurt
- 4 tbsp (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
for the jam
- 1 1/2 cup (490g) store bought or home-made strawberry jam
for assembly
- 1 quart strawberries washed + sliced
Instructions
for the meringue layers (this can be done the night before)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Draw 12 circles each 4 inches in diameter onto two pieces of parchment paper that fit a 9 inch x 13 inch baking sheet. Then place on a baking sheet with the ink side down.
- If almonds were bought un-blanched, blanch them by adding the almonds to a pot of boiling boiling water for 1 minutes. Drain the almonds and rinse with cold water to cool down. Squeeze the tips of each almond to remove the skin.
- Toast the hazelnuts and blanched almonds by placing them separated on a baking pan (one side of hazelnuts, the other for almonds) and baking them at 350°F on a sheet pan until lightly darkened. Once toasted, remove from the oven and bundle hazelnuts in a linen to steam. While holding the top of the bundle, use your other handle to jostle and rub the bottom of the bundle to remove the skins.
- Lightly pulse the almonds, skinned hazelnuts, cornstarch and salt in a food processor until nuts are sandy and crumbly. Add half of the sugar and pulse one or two times to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip egg whites on slow, until foamy and pale in colour. Then increase to medium, add lemon juice and mix until soft and billowy. Slowly add in the remaining half of sugar in 1 tbsp increments. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar granules are fully incorporated.
- Fold nut mixture into the egg whites in 3 batches. Decrease oven temperature to 250°F.
- Using a spatula, evenly spread dollops of the meringue into each circle, they should be 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. With a spray bottle filled with water, mist the surface of each meringue until glistening.
- Bake for 1.5 hours. When done baking, turn off the oven and allow it to cool for another 1.5 hours (Do not open the oven while baking and cooling).
- Removing parchment paper. When fully baked, the parchment should pull away easily and not tear the meringue.
- Stack and store in an airtight container until ready to use.
for the chantilly cream
- Combine greek yogurt, heavy cream, confectioners sugar & vanilla extract in a chilled mixing bowl.
- Mix on high speed until stiff and thickened. Spoon into a piping bag and chill until ready to use.
to assemble
- Spread a layer of whipped cream onto a meringue disc.
- Place sliced strawberries in a circle on the cream to anchor them. Then, pipe a ring of cream inside the ring of strawberries. Continue piping cream rings until the height of the rings is the same height as the strawberries. Lightly press in the strawberries to affix them to the cream.
- Spoon some jam into the center of the cream rings, and top the whole thing with another meringue disc.
- Decorate the top with more cream and sliced strawberries.
Notes
- Daquoises keep best in their separate components until ready to be assembled and served.