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RECIPE: Individual Dacquoises with Berry Sauce and Shaved Dark Chocolate
- Yield: Serves 8
Description
For my birthday, my mother used to make my favorite dessert: meringues topped with vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce. Some years ago, after my friend Rachel brought a fabulous dacquoise cake to dinner one night (meringue โcakeโ layers interspersed and topped with whipped cream and berries), I decided to try my hand at a combination of the two, and I came up with this recipe, which is always a hit with dinner guests. It has the added advantage of using up eggs โ we have a few too many chickens. (I add the unused egg yolks to our dogโs dinner, and heโs grateful.)
Ingredients
The meringues
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
The berry sauce
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
- 12 Amarena cherries (see note), roughly chopped
- 2–3 Tbsps Amarena cherry syrup (from the can or jar)
The toppings
- 3 oz good quality dark chocolate, grated or shaved
- 1 pint whipping cream
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the meringues: Preheat the oven to 225โ. In a mixer, whip the egg whites and the cream of tartar on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour in the sugar, add the vanilla, and whip until the meringue holds its shape.
- On two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silpat mats, drop 10 dollops of meringue and use a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon to flatten them into round-ish shells about an inch thick. Bake the meringue shells for 1 1/2 hours, shifting the trays after 45 minutes from top to bottom and bottom to top. For crisper shells, cook a bit longer, or leave them in the oven after turning it off until theyโre cool. When cool, use a spatula to remove the shells from the parchment or silpat, and set aside.
- While the meringues are cooking, make the fruit sauce. Combine the frozen raspberries, strawberries, Amarena cherries, and Amarena syrup in a bowl and let sit. As the raspberries melt, theyโll add their juices to the cherry liquid, which is good.
- Grate or shave the chocolate and set aside.
- Once ready to assemble, whip the cream by placing it in a mixer and gradually increase the speed as the cream begins to thicken. Slowly pour in the sugar, and add the vanilla. Whip until the cream holds its shape, but donโt over whip, or it will develop a butter-like consistency.
- To assemble, place one meringue shell on a dessert plate and top it with a generous smear of whipped cream. Stir the fruit mixture, taste, and add more amarena syrup if you want it sweeter. Pour a few spoonfuls over the meringue and whipped cream. Scatter a smattering of grated or shaved chocolate on top. Repeat with seven more meringues, and serve. (There will be two meringues left over; enjoy them on their own later!)
Notes
Amarena cherries are small, dark Italian cherries cooked in a sugar syrup and often used in desserts as decorations and/or flavor enhancers. They are available from Amazon or other online sources.
