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Hazelnut Macaroon Cake




Source of Recipe


Internet


List of Ingredients




For the plain meringue layer:

2 egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 C. superfine sugar

For the hazelnut meringue layers:

6 egg whites
1 1/2 C. superfine sugar
3 C toasted hazelnuts, finely ground (see note)
4 tsp. cocoa

For filling and decoration:

small chocolate bar for chocolate curls (see note)
3 3/4 C. heavy cream
7 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely grated


Recipe



Preheat oven to 275º. Grease and line with wax paper a 9 inch springform pan; line 2 flat baking sheets with wax paper, each marked with a 9 inch circle.

To make the plain meringue: slowly whisk egg whites in a large clean bowl till they become thick and frothy. Add the cream of tartar and whisk faster until the whites form stiff peaks. Sprinkle half the sugar over the whites and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Sprinkle remaining sugar over the meringue, half at a time and gently fold in.

Spread mixture in the prepared springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until crisp and dry. Remove from oven; loosen edges with a narrow spatula, lift out of pan and let cool on a wire rack.

To make hazelnut meringue. Whisk 3 of the egg whites into soft peaks. Gradually whisk in 3/4 C. sugar to form a stiff glossy meringue. Mix 1 1/2 C. hazelnuts with 2 tsp. cocoa and gently Fold in. Spoon half of the mixture on each prepared baking sheet and spread evenly with in the marked circles. (If you wish, use a pastry bag with 1/2 inch plain nozzle to pipe meringue in a continuous spirals to form disks).

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until crisp and dry. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks. Reline the baking sheets and repeat the process with the rest of the ingredients to make 2 more disks. Peel off the lining paper once the disks are cold.

Notes: toast hazelnuts on a baking sheet at 350º for 15 minutes until lightly browned and with flaking skins. Pour hot nuts into a cloth, fold the cloth over them and gently rub to remove skins. Cool before using.



To make ganache: pour heavy cream into a medium pan and slowly bring to a boil over gentle heat. Take the cream off the heat and gradually stir in the grated semisweet chocolate until well incorporated. Refrigerate until firm but not set (1 to 1 1/2 hours---ganache must be used while it is still soft because it hardens once it is cold) Beat well until mixture is paler in color.
To assemble cake:
set aside half of the ganache. Use the rest to sandwich together the meringue disks, with the plain disk as the center layer. Spoon 1/3 of the reserved ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch plain nozzle. Spread the rest over the top and sides of the cake.

Mark the sides with a confectionery comb to make decorative horizontal stripes. Mark the top of the cake into 12 wedges.

Pipe beads of ganache around the base and top of the cake, then along the marked lines. Fill each segment with chocolate curls.

Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Note: for chocolate curls, bring chocolate bar to room temp and shave curls as desired from side of bar using sharp swivel bladed vegetable peeler.