Benjamina Ebuehi's Recipe for Cherry and Pistachio Meringue Cake

For the holidays, a classic pavlova is getting replaced for a similarly delightful sweet creation. Golden rounds of nutty meringue are assembled with a lush pistachio cream and juicy cherry mixture. While it sits, the discs become slightly from the moisture, resulting in a delightfully cake-like feel. It's a fantastic choice for a festive dessert that omits the usual suspects of chocolate and booze.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Inspired by the popularity of a certain viral chocolate bar, ready-made pistachio spread is simple to source in local shops. The spread is already sweetened and offers a lovely, soft green hue. An alternative is unsweetened nut 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

Method

Begin by preheating the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Cover three trays with baking paper. Trace around an 18cm plate, draw a circle on the parchment. Turn the paper upside down so the ink don't come into contact the meringue.

In a food processor the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until mostly fine – a few chunkier pieces of pistachio are perfectly acceptable.

In a large bowl and whisk on medium until frothy. Increase the speed and beat until you have soft peaks. Keeping the mixer on, incorporate little by little the caster sugar until the meringue is firm, shiny, and holds its shape.

Carefully incorporate the processed nuts into the meringue, being careful not to knock out the air. Place the batter into a bag fitted with a large tip and snip off about an inch from the tip.

Pipe from the outside of each pencil template, fill the circle with meringue onto each tray. Smooth the surface gently. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes until the meringues are gently colored and feel firm. They should come off the paper when cool. Remove and cool completely.

In the meantime, prepare the cherry sauce. Place all compote ingredients in a saucepan and cook on a medium-low flame until the cherries begin to release juice. Bring to a boil and cook for five or six minutes until the cherries are tender. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon to a bowl, keeping the liquid in the pan. Reduce the liquid until it has thickened slightly, then combine it with the cherries. Leave to cool.

For the pistachio cream, whip together the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until just thickened.

To assemble, trim the sides of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, for a clean edge. Set the first layer on a platter and cover with a some of the whipped cream. Make a shallow dip (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the center and add some of the cherries (to stop the syrup from leaking). Place the second layer and repeat with more cream and cherries, saving a portion for the final garnish.

Set the top layer and frost the entire cake with the rest of the pistachio cream, smoothing it with a knife. Press the chopped pistachios onto the sides.

Put the remaining filling into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and add decorative dollops on top. Garnish with the saved cherries and keep cold until it's time to eat.