A Chef's Recipe for Nutty Cherry Meringue Cake

For the holidays, my usual Christmas dessert is making way for a equally impressive dessert featuring meringue. Crisp discs of nutty meringue are assembled with creamy pistachio filling and tart cherry sauce. As it rests, the meringue softens slightly from the moisture, achieving a soft and tender consistency. It's a wonderful alternative for Christmas dining without traditional rich ingredients.

Cherry and Pistachio Meringue Cake

Inspired by the trend of a well-known confection, pistachio creme is simple to source in local shops. It is sugar-added and imparts a lovely, soft green hue. An alternative is pistachio butter as a substitute, but the hue might be muddier and some added sweetness is needed to sweeten it to taste.

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 2 hr 20 min
Serves: 12-16

For the Meringue Discs
150g pistachio kernels, plus an extra 50g, chopped, for garnish
50g icing sugar
1 tsp cornflour
A pinch of salt
165g egg whites
155g caster sugar

For the Cherry Compote
350g frozen cherries
Juice of ½ lemon
60g caster sugar

For the Pistachio Cream
600ml whipping cream
60g pistachio creme

Instructions

First, warming the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Prepare three baking sheets with baking paper. Trace around an 18cm plate, draw a circle on the parchment. Turn the paper upside down so the drawn lines don't come into contact the meringue.

Pulse together the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until largely ground – a few chunkier pieces of pistachio are perfectly acceptable.

Using a stand mixer and whisk on medium until light and bubbly. Increase the speed and mix until you have soft peaks. While still beating, gradually add the caster sugar until the meringue is thick, stiff, and glossy.

Gently fold the processed nuts into the meringue, taking care not to over-mix. Transfer the mixture into a large piping bag and snip off about an inch from the tip.

Pipe from the outside of each outline, fill the circle with meringue onto each tray. Smooth the surface carefully. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes until the meringues are pale gold and are set to the touch. They should come off the paper when cool. Remove and cool completely.

In the meantime, combine the compote ingredients. Add the frozen cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a pot and heat gently until the cherries start to thaw and liquid forms. Increase the heat to boil and cook for about five minutes until the cherries are tender. Transfer the fruit to a bowl, leaving the juices in the pan. Boil the juices until it has thickened slightly, then combine it with the cherries. Set aside to cool.

To make the filling, beat the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until just thickened.

For construction, neaten the edges of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, for a clean edge. Place one disc on a platter and cover with a generous amount of the whipped cream. Create a slight well (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the middle and place some of the cherries (to stop the syrup from leaking). Add another disc and repeat the process, setting aside a portion for the top decoration.

Set the top layer and frost the entire cake with the leftover filling, using a palette knife with a knife. Press the chopped pistachios onto the vertical surface.

Place the rest of the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and create swirls on top. Top with the reserved cherries and chill until ready to serve.