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Pistachio Dacquoise With Strawberries

Pistachio dacquoise decorated with fresh strawberries on a white serving platter with berries and flatware on background.
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5 from 9 reviews

This pistachio dacquoise recipe is a keeper! The cake is a feast for the eyes and the mouth: it is all about contrasting textures and flavors where the biscuit dacquoise marries with pistachio mousseline cream and fresh strawberries. Unveil this lovely cake for an extra special dessert!

Ingredients

Scale

For pistachio dacquoise:

  • 1.4 oz (40 g) unsalted pistachios
  • 1 cup + 4 teaspoons (135 g) icing sugar
  • 1 cup + 3 tablespoons (115 g) almond flour
  • 1/2 cup + 5 1/2 teaspoons (150 g) egg whites (see note #1)
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 g) granulated sugar

For pistachio mousseline cream:

For the pastry cream:

  • 1/4 cup (60 g) milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tablespoon (5 g) corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) granulated sugar

For the Italian meringue:

  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) egg whites (see note #2)
  • 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon (60 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) water

For creme Anglaise:

  • 7 teaspoons (35 g) milk
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) egg yolks (see note #3)
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) granulated sugar

Plus:

  • 5.3 oz (150 g) butter, softened
  • 1.4 oz (40 g) pistachio paste

For decoration:

  • 17.6 oz (500 g) fresh strawberries
  • 1/2 oz (15 g) pistachios
  • 1 teaspoon powdered (icing) sugar

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Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 335 F/170 C.
  2. To make pistachio dacquoise, chop pistachios into small pieces or process nuts in a food processor to get the ground pistachios. Mix powdered (icing) sugar, almond flour, and chopped (ground) pistachios. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer and gradually add granulated sugar. The meringue has to be flexible: reach medium-firm picks. Pour the dry ingredients into the whites and gently mix with a rubber spatula going in a circular motion from outside to inside. Stop mixing as soon as the mixture is homogeneous.
  3. Butter a tart ring or another cake ring of 9 inches/23-24 cm in diameter (the height does not matter) and place it on a baking sheet covered with the parchment paper. Place the dacquoise preparation in a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 806. Make a spiral into the tart/cake ring, starting from the center and going to the edge of the ring. Then make small balls in the direction towards the center, side by side along the edge of the ring (see note #4). Sprinkle small balls with powdered (icing) sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.
  4. To make the pastry cream, bring milk in a saucepan to boil. In a separate small bowl, whip egg yolk, sugar, and corn starch together. Pour the hot milk into the yolk/sugar/starch mixture, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and bring it over low heat. Continue whisking until the mixture starts thickening. Pour the pastry cream on a shallow plate, cover with a plastic film in contact and let it cool at room temperature.
  5. To make the Italian meringue, bring water and sugar to a boil. Meanwhile, whip egg white with an electric mixer. Once the sugar syrup reaches 250 F/121 C  (use a cooking thermometer), pour it over the beaten egg white while keeping whisking. Beat until the meringue becomes firm. 
  6. To make creme Anglaise, bring milk to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and egg yolks. Pour the hot milk into the yolk/sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Bring the preparation back in the saucepan, heat over low to reach 181 F/83 C, continually whisking with a hand whisk. Pour the cream on a small plate, cover with a plastic film in contact and let it cool at room temperature.
  7. Whisk the softened butter with a stand or electric mixer. Add the cooled creme Anglaise and whisk. Then add the Italian meringue, whip again: the buttercream is ready.
  8. Mix the pastry cream with the pistachio paste and add it to the buttercream. Whip again. The pistachio mousseline cream is ready!
  9. To assemble the cake, place the dacquoise on a serving plate. Transfer the pistachio mousseline cream in a pastry bag with a plain tip and spread the cream over the dacquoise biscuit, leaving the edges of dacquoise not covered. 
  10. Cut strawberries into halves and place them over the mousseline cream. Sprinkle chopped pistachios over berries and sprinkle the edges of dacquoise with powdered (icing) sugar.  

Notes

  1. 150 g egg whites approximately equal 4 1/2 raw fresh egg whites from large size chicken eggs.
  2. 30 g egg whites approximately equal 1 raw fresh egg white from medium size chicken egg.
  3. 30 g egg yolks approximately equal 1 1/2 raw fresh egg yolks from extra large size chicken eggs.
  4. While making the dacquoise, pipe small round balls around the edges of the ring instead of making balls in the direction towards the center: this method makes sure that you will have enough of the dacquoise preparation to finish piping. 
  5. If you make dacquoise in advance, assemble the cake four hours as a maximum before serving, or it will become soggy.
  6. Replace fresh strawberries with fresh raspberries if you desire.
  7. Take the cake out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving so that the mousseline cream will have time to soften.

Nutrition

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