For Soph’s birthday cake I’m doing something a bit different, a Chocolate-Espresso Dacquoise. It’s layers of meringue, buttercream and ganache. No idea how we’re going to get candles in it… but it should taste good!

It starts with meringue. Actually it starts with getting my set square out! A 13×10.5 inch rectangle needs to be drawn on baking parchment.

While I’m making that I toast up flaked almonds and hazelnuts, which then get chop up fine in the food processor, with salt and cornflour. Then 100g of sugar is added, golden caster sugar in our case; the dark colour won’t matter with all the nuts added.

The meringue is made with four egg whites, or as we’re using leftover egg whites, 130g of them. It also uses 1/8 tsp of cream of tatar, plus 100g of golden caster sugar.

Once it’s at stiff peaks the nut mix gets folded in, then it’s spread out into the rectangle.

Then it needs 1h30 in a low oven, followed by 1h30 cooling as the oven cools. This is a problem for fan oven, as the fan cools it down too quickly. So for once I’m using our small top oven. Note to self: next time we get an oven, make sure the fan can be turned off.

After cooling outside the oven as well as inside the ruler comes out again and the meringue get cut into four equal strips.

Three of the strips get coated with ganache, while other get buttercream, and they go into the fridge to set.

Then things get layered up, so each level has meringue, ganache and buttercream, then the outside gets a buttercream coating.

Then it’s back in the fridge to set up overnight. Unfortunately it got a little wonky at the back, but we’ll hide that with the final layers.

Finally the ganache is reheated and poured over the top and sides, then toasted almond flakes go on the side, and toasted hazelnuts go on top.

Apparently it has to be cut using a knife cleaned and warmed in warm water between every slice!