Praline Pear Meringue Cake
Servings: 12 slices
This praline pear meringue cake just melts in the mouth, two layers of crisp almond meringue filled with a praline custard and juicy pears. Serve with chocolate sauce for something really special.
INGREDIENTS LIST
Praline
- 125 g caster sugar
- 50 g whole almonds
- 50 g whole roasted hazelnuts
- 30 ml water
Meringue
- 100 g ground almonds
- 4 medium egg whites (120g total)
- 200 g caster sugar
- 30 g flaked almonds
Mousseline
- 500 ml milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste
- 4 medium egg yolks (80g total)
- 30 g caster sugar (2 tbsp)
- 60 g cornflour (cornstarch)
- 200 g butter
- all the praline
Assembly
- 2 whole pears (or tinned)
- 2 tbsp icing sugar (US powdered sugar)
- 30 g flaked almonds (toasted)
Preparation
- If you are unable to get pre-roasted shelled nuts, then here is a way to remove the skins. Toast the nuts in a preheated oven at 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6 for 15 minutes.Once roasted place them in a kitchen cloth and rub them until the skins come off.
- Praline: Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a tall, heavy saucepan over a medium heat; boil until the sugar melts and the liquid starts to turn a light amber colour, swirling the pan occasionally. Avoid stirring the sugar mixture, otherwise it will crystalise and become grainy. (Approx. 5 minutes or less.)
- Once the sugar has changed colour, remove the pan from the heat and add the nuts. Stir to ensure all the nuts are coated and then pour out onto a baking tray lined with a piece of baking parchment. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 140°C fan / 320°F / Gas 3.Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment and draw a 20cm circle on each paper.
- Almond meringue: Beat the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until stiff peaks have formed. Then gradually beat in the caster sugar 1 dessert spoon at a time until the mixture is thick, stiff and glossy. Fold in the ground almonds using a large metal spoon or spatula.
- Put a small dab of meringue mixture under each corner of the baking paper to hold it in place. Divide the meringue equally between the centres of the 2 circles. Then shape the meringue, spreading out the mix to the edges and evenly around the circles. Sprinkle each meringue circle with the sliced almonds.
- Baking: Place the meringues into the oven and reduce the temperature to 120°C fan / 275F / Gas 1.Bake for 1 hour, then allow the meringues to cool in the oven with the door propped ajar with a wooden spoon handle.
- Praline: Break up the cooled praline and place the pieces into a food processor and blitz until it forms a thick paste, about 6-8 minutes.
- Pears: If you are using fresh pears, remove the skin and then dice the pears into 1 cm pieces. Place in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water and let them simmer gently for 10 minutes with a lid on. Then leave to cool. If you are using tinned pear, you only need to drain and then dice the pears.
- Mousseline: Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla. Bring to a boil over a medium heat.
- In the meantime, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is light and pale, add the cornstarch and continue whisking.
- Add 1/3 of the milk to the egg mixture and whisk quickly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Pour the mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and simmer, stirring constantly. Once the custard has thickened, let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and then mix half of it into the custard.Pour the custard into a container to cool and cover it with clingfilm, ensuring the clingfilm touches the custard to avoid skin forming.Leave the remaining butter covered on the side to use later.
- Once the custard has cooled, give it a good whisk to make it smooth and creamy. Add the remainder of the butter and continue whisking until well combined.
- Add all the praline and whisk again until incorporated and finally, fold in the cooled diced pear.
- Assembly: Line a 20cm / 8inch springform pan with clingfilm or acetate around the side to stop the cake from sticking. Place one of the meringues into the springform pan and pour in the mousseline cream. Make sure the mousseline is evenly distributed and then place the other meringue on top. Chill for an hour to set or place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Once chilled, remove from the springform pan and then the clingfilm.Finally, stick the toasted sliced almonds to the side of the cake and dust the top with icing sugar to serve.
