Meringue is chewy and crisp paired with the intense aroma of coffee. This is the beauty of the delicate gorgeousness of the marrons glacés…
Just one mouthful of this elegant dessert reveals the importance and splendour of contrasts in textures…
Ingredients:
For the meringues: (Note: You can use ready-made, store-bought)
6 egg whites
300 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons corn flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanila
For the filling:
600 ml double cream, cold
4 tablespoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons Tia Maria liqueur
300 g marrons glacés,
(i.e. chestnuts in syrup, bought
from a pastry shop), crumbled
For the caramelised almonds
11⁄2 cups almonds, blanched
1 tablespoon butter; unsalted,
at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1⁄2 cup of water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
2. For the meringues: Grease and line two baking trays, and draw out 2 circles, roughly 30 cm in diameter.
3. In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Add the sugar spoonful by spoonful, and mix.
4. Once you have added all the sugar and the egg whites become stiff, gently fold in the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and cornflour. Mix well to combine.
5. Spoon the meringue onto the baking trays, dividing it equally. Spread them out to make two round discs.
6. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, then switch off the oven. Leave the meringues in the oven to harden for another hour. You want the meringue to be crisp so that it can support the weight of the cream.
7. For the cream: : Whip cold double cream and add the instant coffee and Tia Maria until stiff peaks form.
8. Set the first meringue disc on a serving dish and top with half of the whipped cream, and half of the chopped marrons. Sprinkle half of the roughly chop caramelised almonds over the marrons. Repeat the process with the second meringue disk.
9. Chill in the refrigerator until serving time.
For the Caramelised Almonds:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
Almonds: Place the almonds on a baking sheet, and toast until golden
brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and set aside
to cool.
2. Butter a 25 x 38 cm rimmed baking sheet. Spread the toasted almonds
evenly across the pan.
3. For the caramel: In a medium saucepan, dissolve the water and the
sugar; stir to combine. Once the sugar is dissolved, cook without stirring until
the sugar is a deep amber colour. Add the lemon juice.
4. Immediately stir in the almonds and cover with the caramel. If the caramel
doesn’t cover all the nuts, tilt the pan slightly to distribute, or stir the nuts with
a wooden spoon.
5. Cool completely. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up
to 1 week.
