This recipe for dacquoise is quite simple and very delicious. Unlike traditional cakes, a dacquoise is leavened (risen) by the air incorporated into egg whites in the meringue. But the small ingredient list comes at a cost of a shorter shelf life. Lacking any flour, starch, or other stabilizing agent, this particular recipe is fragile in both lifespan and structure. Fresher is better, so be sure to use it as soon as possible, or keep sealed air-tight in the refrigerator for a few days at most. Because the meringue can get sticky over time, you want to use pieces of parchment to keep any cut layers separated.

Lacking any wheat flour, this recipe is completely gluten-free.

Ingredients

Equipment

Method

Begin by sifting the almond flour.

You can return the leftovers to a food processor and blend to recover some additional fine ground almond. Resist the temptation to use these large clumps of flour since they will make your cake clumpy instead of homogenous.

Optionally, add a bit of cream of tartar to help form a more perfect meringue.

Butter and flour your pan before pouring in the batter. To prepare this batter gluten-free swap the flour with corn starch, being very careful to avoid any cross-contamination.

Bake the cake at 350°F (180°C) until the cake is fully cooked through and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes depending on the size of your pan. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

You can now slice your dacquoise to whatever size you need or use pastry rounds to cut out circles for entremets.

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