Dacquoise

Adacquoise is meringue paste with the addition of fine-ground nuts. Other names for this mixture are japonais or broyage. This nutty meringue paste is usually formed into thin shapes by piping, stenciling or drawing free-form, and then is dried in the oven until crisp. The dacquoise is always used in combination with cakes and creams to create a dessert that melts smoothly in your mouth. I make my dacquoise using the Cold Method, but the Warm Method works well too.

The proportion of nuts and sugar to egg whites can vary to produce different textures. Classic Dacquoise is similar to Classic Meringue with the addition of some ground nuts. As with meringues, the more sugar incorporated, the less quickly the egg-white foam will break down and become runny. Folding ground nuts into Classic Dacquoise without affecting the volume of the egg-white foam is easy. Because the proportion of nuts is low in relation to the ratio of sugar to egg whites, you can dry the mixture as though it were a meringue.