Birthday Dacquoise

I thought my last dacquoise was going to be the final one, but I couldn’t resist making one more, especially with my parents visiting for my birthday today. Since it is my birthday, I wanted to fill it with a few of my favorite things-caramel, chocolate, frosting, and Nutella. This is not something I would recommend eating everyday. In fact, I would highly recommend only having two pieces then letting someone else finish it, because it’s pretty indulgent.

Yet again, I planned this several days ahead of time. I made the caramel one day, the buttercream the next day, and the dacquoise the night before making it. It helps to spread out the process so you’re not trying to finish it all in one day. If you want to attempt making it in one day, be sure you don’t have a nagging toddler around your ankles and eat a full meal ahead of time, otherwise you’ll be snacking on all of the ingredients…

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup aquafaba, reduced from 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup + 2.5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 3/4 cup blanched and toasted hazelnuts, 1/4 cup reserved for garnish and 1/2 cup ground into a fine meal
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Swiss Meringue Buttercream here
• 1/2 cup aquafaba, reduced from 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3/4 Earth Balance (I used spread, but sticks would have worked better)
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder

Caramel (adapted only very slightly from here)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Earth Balance, or other vegan butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, blanched and roasted
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Ganache
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 tbsp hot soy milk

Directions:

1. Reduce aquafaba from 3/4 cup down to 1/2 cup and refrigerate overnight. Blanch and toast hazelnuts, then grind to a meal. Sift together with almond meal and confectioners sugar. Grind any bits that won’t fit through a fine seive.

2. Begin whipping aquafaba until it forms soft peaks and no longer moves if you tilt the bowl.

Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating 30 seconds between each addition. Meringue will become thick, stiff, and glossy.

3. Sift in almond/hazelnut mixture and add cinnamon. Stir to fully incorporate it.

4. Pipe onto a parchment lined tray into similar sized rectangles. I drew mine on the underside of the parchment paper.

If you don’t have time to pipe it perfectly, you can simply spoon and spread it.

5. Bake at 200°F for 2 hours, then leave in closed oven to cool to room temperature (or overnight.)

6. While the dacquoise is baking, follow the instructions here for making the Swiss meringue buttercream. Add in cocoa powder and melted chocolate once it’s fully combined.

7. Combine ingredients for the caramel in a sauce pan, excluding the vanilla extract.

Heat and stir until everything is fully melted over medium heat. Leave over medium heat until it reaches the soft ball stage. You can test in a cup of cool water by dropping a small bit in.

Close, but needed a few more minutes. Add vanilla, then stir.

Pour into a parchment lined pan and refrigerate for 60 minutes until solid.

8. Make the nutella: grind everything together until it forms a thick paste in a food processor.

9. When dacquoise is cooled, pipe buttercream around the edges of 5 of the rectangles. Fill two with buttercream, one with hazelnut spread, and two with caramel.

I found it easiest to cut the caramel and peel the parchment off the bottom.

10. Stick each layer in the refrigerator and stack once they have cooled. Top with the last dacquoise rectangle and caramel. Drizzle the warm chocolate ganache down the edges, cool, then pipe buttercream on top and add nuts as desired.

Tags: aquafaba, buttercream, cake, caramel, dacquoise, dessert, food, recipe, swiss meringue, vegan, vegetarian