This recipe makes a wonderful light but rich dessert for a special meal. Best eaten the same day but even better made a few hours ahead and allowed to stand. If you want to save time on the day you need it the meringue component can easily be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. The recipe calls for 4 eggs but uses them in separate components of the gateaux. The whites are used to make 4 meringue based layers and the yolks are used to make the filling. This gateaux is a more advanced recipe for a confident cook however everyone needs to face a challenge occasionally and this is worth a try..

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe uses 4 eggs and will serve 6 – 8 people depending upon how generous you want to be.

Ingredients

Meringue layers

• 150g Roasted Hazelnuts finely ground
• 4 egg whites
• 185g Caster sugar
• 80g Plain flour

Filling

• 125g Caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Instant coffee powder
• 2 floz Water
• 4 egg yolks lightly beaten
• 250g unsalted butter cut into 1cm cubes

Topping

• 10 floz Double or whipping cream
• 2tsp Tia Maria
• Whole nuts or coffee beans to decorate

You will need 2 or 4 x 20cm loose bottomed cake tins. If you have 4 you can bake in 1 batch otherwise you will need to bake in 2 batches

Method

Make the meringue layers

• Preheat the oven to 160c, grease and line the base and sides of the baking tins
• Put the egg whites into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form then slowly add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the sugar has all been added and the whites have a stiff glossy texture.
• Gently fold in the ground nuts and flour until just combined
• Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and put a quarter into each of the tins available, spread the mix evenly in the tin and smooth the top. If cooking in 2 batches put the remaining meringue in the refridgerator until the first batch has cooked
• Bake for 25 mins. Until golden light and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes before removing the meringue from the tin
• If cooking in 2 batches repeat step 5 with the remaining uncooked meringue portions. At this stage the meringues can be stored in an airtight tin for several days.

Make the coffee filling

• Combine the sugar, coffee and water in a pan. Heat gently until the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves
• Simmer uncovered for 5 mins without stirring and the mix goes syrupy, remove from the heat and allow to cool
• Using an electric mixer beat the egg yolks for 10 mins then very slowly add the cooled syrup. Keep beating for a further 5 mins
• Add the butter a cube at a time beating well between additions

Make the topping

• Whip the cream until starting to hold peaks when you lift out the whisk
• Add the Tia Maria and beat until combined. NB do not over whip the cream as it will continue to stiffen when you stop and crack when you have covered the gateaux.

Assemble the gateaux

• Layer the meringue with the coffee filling
• Spread half the cream over the sides and top of the gateaux
• Pipe the remaining cream over the top and decorate with nuts or coffee beans

Serving suggestions and variations

• This gateaux is a great one impress your friends. As it benefits from being left a few hours before being served once assembled it is a good BBQ or dinner party dessert and needs no accompaniment
• It can be adapted to a berry version easily by omitting the nuts and coffee. Substitute the ground nuts with flour and layer the meringue with cream and fresh fruit. Replace the Tia Maria with suitably flavoured liquor such as Framboise or Casis. See my Raspberry meringue gateaux recipe for further guidance. Decorate with fruit or white chocolate
• for a mint choc meringue gateaux , stir a splash of mint essence into the meringue instead of ground nuts, increasing the flour content to 225g, add 4 tbsp of cocoa powder  to the sugar syrup and add Crème de Menthe  to the cream. Decorate with chocolate curls or similar
• For a citrus version substitute the nuts for flour, add the zest of 1 orange or 2 lemons or 2 limes to the meringue. Add the juice to the sugar syrup instead of the water and add a suitably flavoured liquor to the cream consider Cointreau or Limoncello

Acknowledgements

The original version of this gateaux came from an Australian Women’s Weekly recipe. I tested it out as an alternative to sponge cake for a Farmers Market. It was loved by 1 gent so much he asked me to make him one for a special meal  for his soon to be fiancée at the time.

If you enjoyed this recipe you might like to try:

• Chantilly Cream is a great alternative to whipped cream for this dessert.
• Fancy a lunch or teatime treat then Whoopie Pies are the go
• Want something a little less changing, then have a go at our Victoria Sponge Cake which can be tweaked using one of our variations to suit your taste.

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!