Almond Caramel Dacquoise

Recipe by Canadian Living.

I made this dessert last week for my mother and sister in-law's birthdays. As per doctor's orders I'm off dairy at the moment, so I nibbled on leftover meringue pieces and took pleasure in watching everyone else enjoy their dessert. Unfortunately for me, there was one left sitting in the fridge taunting me all the next day. After a long day of self control and as my dinner hunger began to set in, I broke down and had one bite...after all, I have to know whether or not it's "blog worthy". Well one bite led to another until I devoured the entire thing! I think this may have just become one of my all-time favourite desserts, and definitely blog worthy!!

What you'll need

Meringue:

2/3 cup Whole (unskinned) almonds

4 Egg whites

1/4 tsp Cream of tartar

3/4 cup Granulated sugar

Filling:

1 cup Granulated sugar

1 3/4 cup Whipping cream

2 tbsp Butter

Pinch Salt

How to

Meringue:

1. On baking sheet, bake almonds in 375°F oven until fragrant and golden, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool; finely chop and set aside.

2. In stand mixer with whisk, beat egg whites until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, until stiff peaks form. Fold in 1/2 cup of the almonds.

3. Using piping bag with 1-cm plain tip, pipe egg mixture into twenty 8-cm circles onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

4. Bake in 250°F oven until dry and crisp, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool on pans on racks. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 24 hours.)

Filling:

1. In heavy saucepan, stir sugar with 1/4 cup water over medium heat until dissolved. Bring to boil: boil vigorously, without stirring but brushing down side of pan often, until dark amber, 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Standing back and averting face, add 1/2 cup of the cream; whisk until smooth. Whisk in butter and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. In large bowl, whip remaining cream.

4. Spread 1-2 tsp of the caramel filling on each meringue. Spread a layer of whipped cream on caramel. Stack 2 meringues together to make 10 servings. Drizzle each with remaining caramel; sprinkle with remaining almonds. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.