dacquoise is a confection that looks like a cake but consists of two or three layers of hazelnut- or almond-flavored cooked meringue with a filling sandwiched between each layer. See meringue. Buttercream is traditional, but fruit fillings and whipped cream are also commonly used. A dusting of confectioner’s sugar may cover the top and sides of the dacquoise, or it may be spread with buttercream or left bare to show the beautiful layering of meringue circles and filling. A dacquoise can be made large, like a cake, or small, for individual desserts. Julia Child writes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1979, Vol. 2) that a great deal of disagreement exists in French cookbooks on what the layers should be filled with, and “since no one agrees on anything, you are quite safe in doing whatever you wish.” This elegant dessert is found in pastry shops all over Paris, where it may be called a Succès or a Progrès. According to Child, the difference depends on whether ground almonds are used in the meringue or a mixture of almonds and hazelnuts. However, even this rule is not hard and fast. Older French cookbooks typically use one of these names instead of “dacquoise,” regardless of the cake’s composition. In his Gastronomie pratique (1928), Ali-Bab simply calls the confection a gâteau meringué (meringue cake) and recommends that it be filled with any sort of flavored cream, such as pistachio, chocolate, or mocha.
