The Masterchef Australia Season 12 finale was weeks ago, but I had been wanting to make a dacquoise throughout the entire season because they make it all the time in that show. The contestants somehow bang these things out in like 30 minutes, and after finally attempting one myself, I’m like HOW???? This thing took hours to make, but the techniques were relatively simple and the flavors and textures were well worth the work. The real time killer is all of the 30-minute refrigerations required to set all of the components, so the hands on work is pretty minimal, though my back still killed at the end of the day. I’d say if you want to give yourself a challenge and you have an entire day, this recipe definitely pays off, and you’ll have enough dessert to last you a week, so really why wouldn’t you try it?
The flavor though. The flavor is an important thing to take into consideration when deciding whether to take on the challenge. Um… anyone like Reeses peanut butter cups? This is like that, but with superior texture, way more complex depth of flavor, and completely lacking in that deathly sweet quality that accompanies all packaged chocolate candies. The chopped up peanuts in the meringue offer a refreshing crunch among the overall richness of the mousse and ganache. The nuts along with the strategic additions of salt in most of the components really help to cut the sweetness and are 100% necessary. The dark chocolate is also key - just trust me. All together, it’s like a peanut butter cup, but a cake, and it’s not so sweet that it gives you a headache. In conclusion, make this cake - don’t get a headache - do not invite anyone over to help you finish it.
Butter Count: 0 Tbsp, shockingly
GANACHE GLAZE:
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/3 cups dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1/8 tsp fleur de sel
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a small pot or medium saucepan, whisk the cocoa powder and sugar until well-mixed.
Gradually add 1/4 cup water, whisking until smooth.
Gradually add the heavy cream, whisking until smooth.
Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
Add the dark chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let the mixture stand at room temperature until it is cooled and slightly thickened, stirring about once ever 30 minutes over 2 hours.
MERINGUE LAYERS:
1 1/4 cup salted, roasted peanuts, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
6 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 275F. Get two baking tray-sized sheets of parchment paper. On one sheet, draw two 10x4 1/2-inch rectangles with a sharpie. Flip the parchment paper over and put it on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second parchment paper, but only draw one rectangle. In total, there should be three rectangles, split over two baking trays.
In a food processor, add the 1 cup peanuts and 1/4 cup sugar and process until finely ground.
Coarsely chop the remaining 1/4 cup peanuts and set them aside.
In a stand mixer set with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on medium-high speed until foamy. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until the mixture is glossy and has reached stiff peaks. Turn the mixer off.
With a rubber spatula, fold in the nut/sugar mixture and the coarsely chopped nuts until just blended, but be careful not to over-mix and flatten the mixture. It’s ok to have some un-blended spots.
Spoon about two cups of meringue mixture onto each rectangle, and use the rubber spatula or an offset spatula to spread the mixture such that the rectangles are evenly filled and each meringue rectangle is relatively flat on top.
Bake about 1 hour 30 minutes, until evenly golden on all sides. The meringues should be basically dry, but still soft, though I don’t recommend trying to push your finger into them to test it. Just take them out of the oven when they are uniformly golden and let them cool completely on a room temperature surface, leaving them on the parchment paper the whole time.
PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE:
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled, divided
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Using an electric mixture set with a paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter, brown sugar, and salt on medium speed until blended.
With the mixer running, gradually add in 1/4 cup heavy cream and mix until just blended. Repeat with another 1/4 cup heavy cream. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the mixture to a large glass bowl, making sure to scrape out all of the mixture. Wipe the stand mixer bowl out with a towel if needed, as it will be used in the next step, but make sure it is dry.
Set the stand mixer with a whisk attachment. With the mixer off, add the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Slowly turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and whisk until hard peaks form.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream mixture into the peanut butter mixture, 1/3 at a time, until relatively uniformly blended, careful not to over-mix.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill until needed.
ASSEMBLY:
Using the rectangle templates you drew early on the parchment paper, use a serrated knife to lightly and slowly trim the edges off of the meringue rectangles.
Using a sharp knife or an offset spatula, remove one of the meringue rectangles from its parchment paper and place it on some kind of long rectangular wire rack.
Pour 1/4 cup of ganache glaze over the meringue rectangle so that it completely covers the top. It’s ok if the glaze drips down the sides a little, but it is not needed. Repeat this step with a second meringue rectangle. Chill both glaze rectangles, off of their racks, about 30 minutes or until the chocolate is set.
Place one glazed meringue rectangle on the serving platter (or you can put it on the counter, and when you’re completely finished with the assembly, you can transfer it to the platter).
Spread half of the chilled mousse evenly over the meringue layer.
Place the second glazed meringue rectangle on top of the mousse layer.
Spread the remaining mousse evenly over the second meringue layer.
Place the unglazed meringue layer on top of the second mousse layer.
Pour 1/2 cup of the ganache glaze over the center of the final meringue layer. Use an offset spatula to spread the glaze toward the edges, letting it drip over. Use the offset spatula to smooth out the glaze so that it is in a thin, flat, uniform, even layer that covers the entire dacquoise.
Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until the glaze is set.
Pour the remaining glaze over the top of the dacquoise and repeat the spreading/smoothing step so that the ganache is relatively flat and completely covering the dacquoise.
Sprinkle chopped peanuts and fleur de sel over the top, and chill about 3 hours to fully set the mousse and ganache layers.