• 1 ½ cups/150 g ground blanched almonds
• 2 tbsp/15 g potato starch or cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups/300 g sugar
• 6 egg whites
• butter cream
• confectioners’ sugar (to sprinkle)
• 2 oz/60 g chopped toasted almonds

Pastry bag with ⅝ in/1.5 cm plain tube

1. Heat the oven to 250°F/120°C.
2. To make the almond meringue: mix together ground almonds, potato starch or cornstarch, and all but 6 tablespoons of the sugar. Stiffly whip the egg whites, add the remaining sugar and continue whipping for 30 seconds or until the mixture forms a glossy meringue that holds peaks. Fold in the almond mixture in 3 batches.
3. Pipe 3 meringue rounds following the instructions. Bake in the preheated oven until crisp and dry, 40-50 minutes. While meringue is still warm, trim rounds neatly with a sharp knife. Transfer them to a rack to cool. Make butter cream and flavor it with praline or coffee.
4. To assemble the cake: spread about one quarter of the butter cream on a meringue layer. Add the second layer, spread with more butter cream and top with the remaining meringue layer. Spread remaining butter cream over the top and sides, reserving 2-3 tablespoons.
5. Sprinkle the top thickly with confectioners’ sugar and press chopped almonds around the edge of the cake. Make a paper piping cone, fill it with the reserved butter cream and pipe the word “succès” across the top.