Benjamina Ebuehi's Recipe for Pistachio and Cherry Meringue Cake

This year, my usual Christmas dessert is making way for a equally impressive dessert featuring meringue. Golden rounds of nutty meringue are layered with a lush pistachio cream and juicy cherry mixture. As it rests, the discs become slightly beneath the filling, creating a pleasantly chewy texture. Consider it a fantastic choice for a festive dessert free from traditional rich ingredients.

Cherry and Pistachio Meringue Cake

Inspired by the craze of a recent social media sensation, pistachio creme is easy to find in local shops. It is already sweetened and offers a lovely, soft green hue. One might use unsweetened nut butter as a substitute, though the tone can be less vibrant and some added sweetness is needed to balance the flavor.

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

Directions

First, heating your oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Cover three trays with parchment paper. Trace around an 18cm plate, outline a circle on every sheet. Turn the paper upside down so the pen marks don't come into contact the meringue.

Pulse together the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until finely processed – a few chunkier pieces of pistachio are just fine.

Using a stand mixer and whisk on medium until light and bubbly. Turn up to medium-high and mix until you have soft peaks. While still beating, gradually add the caster sugar until the meringue is firm, shiny, and holds its shape.

Gently fold the ground nut mix into the meringue, ensuring not to over-mix. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag and cut off about an inch from the tip.

Starting from the outer edge of each outline, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Even it out gently. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the meringues are gently colored and are set to the touch. They should release easily when cool. Allow to cool fully on the trays.

While the meringues bake, prepare the cherry sauce. Put the cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a pan and cook on a medium-low flame until the cherries soften. Increase the heat to boil and cook for about five minutes until the cherries are broken down slightly. Spoon the cherries to a bowl, reserving the syrup in the pan. Reduce the liquid until it has halved in volume, then mix it back with the cherries. Allow to reach room temperature.

For the pistachio cream, whip together the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until it holds soft peaks.

When building the cake, neaten the edges of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, using the 18cm guide. Set the first layer on a serving plate and spread on a generous amount of the whipped cream. Form a depression (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the middle and place some of the cherries (this contains the juices from spilling). Add another disc and repeat with more cream and cherries, reserving a few cherries for the finish.

Add the last meringue and frost the entire cake with the rest of the pistachio cream, smoothing it with a palette knife or bench scraper. Adhere the extra nuts onto the vertical surface.

Transfer any leftover cream into a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe rosettes on top. Top with the saved cherries and keep cold until it's time to eat.