Baking School In-Depth: Dacquoise
The dacquoise was created in the late 19th century in Dax, a spa town in southwestern France. It’s a dessert built on contrast—delicately crisp shell, tender chew, silky buttercream. Here, almonds replace the traditional hazelnuts, giving a more delicate sweetness. Precision is everything: the ratio of sugar to egg white, the sifting of dry ingredients, the bake-and-dry method that locks in crispness without brittleness. When assembled with a Swiss meringue buttercream, it becomes a master class in controlled texture—featherlight, decadent, and perfectly balanced.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson!
INGREDIENT BREAKDOWN
Each ingredient influences structure, moisture, and texture. Knowing their roles helps you understand the stability of dacquoise.
EGG WHITES: Egg whites are roughly 90% water and 10% protein. When whipped, the proteins unfold and trap air, forming a stable foam. This network sets during baking, giving structure and lift. Whipping at room temperature ensures maximum volume because warmer whites expand more readily. Overwhipping breaks this network and leads to a grainy, dry meringue that collapses during baking.
CREAM OF TARTAR: This acid (potassium bitartrate) lowers pH, strengthening the bond between denatured egg proteins. It allows the meringue to expand more gradually, yielding finer bubbles and a more elastic structure. Without it, the foam risks weeping or deflating during folding or baking.
KOSHER SALT: Salt plays a subtle but vital role in protein behavior—it tightens the network slightly, encouraging finer, more stable bubbles. It also amplifies flavor, tempering the sweetness of both meringue and buttercream.
GRANULATED SUGAR: Sugar slows coagulation of egg proteins, allowing the foam to reach greater volume before setting. Added too quickly, it will prevent full aeration; added too late, it won’t dissolve fully, resulting in grainy meringue. Its hygroscopic nature also keeps the interior chewy by attracting and retaining ambient moisture.
ALMOND FLOUR: Blanched almond flour contributes fat (around 50%), which tenderizes and inhibits full protein coagulation, creating a soft chew rather than brittle crispness. The fine grind is key—too coarse, and the meringue deflates; too fine, and it absorbs too much moisture, dulling the crisp exterior.
CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR: This sugar contains about 3% cornstarch, which absorbs surface moisture and helps prevent beading on baked meringue. It also disperses easily into the almond flour, ensuring even folding without deflation.
VANILLA BEAN PASTE: As a concentrated extract with suspended vanilla seeds, providing both aroma and structure, vanilla bean paste’s syrupy base integrates more evenly into foams than liquid extract, helping to prevent collapse.
UNSALTED BUTTER (FOR BUTTERCREAM): Butter is a water-in-fat emulsion that provides both structure and mouthfeel. Higher-fat, European-style butter (82% to 84%) minimizes free water, reducing the risk of curdling during emulsification. Butter’s plasticity—its ability to hold shape while remaining soft—is key to a smooth, stable buttercream.
SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE (FOR BUTTERCREAM): Melted chocolate adds both fat and crystalline cocoa solids. When cooled slightly before addition, it thickens the emulsion and gives structure through cocoa butter’s solidification
at room temperature. The result is a buttercream that’s both aerated and sliceable, with a clean, satiny finish.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Mastering a dacquoise is about control—of texture, temperature, and movement.
These tools are extensions of precision. Each choice helps preserve aeration, prevent overmixing, and maintain the integrity of delicate foams and emulsions.
ROUND CAKE PANS: Parchment paper-lined, ungreased metal pans provide containment without interference. Grease would prevent the meringue from gripping the sides and rising evenly. The metal’s conductivity ensures even dehydration and promotes gentle color development, creating uniform, crisp meringue layers that lift cleanly once cooled. (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Goldtouch® Pro Nonstick Round Cake Pan, 8″.)
OFFSET SPATULA: A small offset spatula gives precision in movement. Its thin, flexible blade allows the meringue to be spread evenly without deflating it—a critical point in retaining air structure. For assembly, an offset spatula helps transport meringue layers, controls buttercream thickness from edge to edge, and smooths buttercream to a polished finish. (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Olivewood Offset Icing Spatula.)
NESTING GLASS BOWLS: Glass retains heat predictably and allows clear visibility—crucial when heating sugar and egg whites over simmering water. Their curved interiors encourage efficient whisking, and their graduated sizes are ideal for mise en place: separating delicate steps (egg whites, dry mix, melted chocolate) without contamination or temperature loss. (Pictured: Glass Mixing Bowl 10-Piece Set.)
SIEVE: A fine-mesh sieve breaks up clumps and aerates almond flour and confectioners’ sugar, allowing these heavier particles to incorporate without knocking air from the meringue. (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Prep Tools Strainers, Set of 3.)
WHISK: Use a whisk to break up sugar clumps and ensure the crystals dissolve evenly into the egg whites. This prevents undissolved sugar from disrupting structure or creating graininess later, ensuring you have a smooth, stable base. (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Signature Stainless Steel French Whisk.)
SPATULAS: Use silicone spatulas for folding; the flexibility lets you cut through the center of the meringue and sweep around the bowl’s curve in one motion, redistributing the almond mixture without collapsing air cells. (Pictured: GIR Mini Spoonula, GIR Ultimate Spatula.)
HEAVY-BOTTOMED SAUCEPAN: Used to create a bain-marie for the Swiss meringue buttercream, the pan’s weight and thickness provide a stable base for the heatproof bowl, and retain heat well to maintain gentle, consistent steam. (Pictured: Williams Sonoma Signature Thermo-Clad Stainless-Steel Saucepan.)
CAKE STAND: A smooth, stable turntable allows for even spreading of buttercream, maintaining consistent thickness across layers. It also minimizes unnecessary handling— crucial for keeping delicate structures intact. (Pictured: Ateco Cast Iron and Non-Slip Pad Cake Stand.)
Chocolate-Almond Dacquoise
The dacquoise is all about texture—an interplay between airy lift and slight resistance when you cut through the layers. The secret lies in the meringue’s balance of sugar, nut flour, and slow drying time. Almond flour lends a more decadent chew than hazelnuts, and the low, even heat ensures the shells stay pale and crisp without cracking.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
Instructions
MASTERING MERINGUE LAYERS
The foundation of every dacquoise is its meringue—crisp at the edges, chewy within, and strong enough to hold its structure once layered. Getting it right is about balance: stable foam, dissolved sugar, and gentle folding. Treat the process with patience, and you’ll build the texture that makes this cake so special.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt at medium-high speed until foamy. Add granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream, beating until glossy, stiff peaks form and stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
In a large bowl, sift together flour and confectioners’ sugar. Gently fold one-third of flour mixture and vanilla bean paste into egg white mixture; gently fold in remaining flour mixture just until combined.
Divide meringue among prepared pans (about 21⁄2 cups or 185 grams each). Using a small offset spatula, gently smooth and level tops.
Bake until golden brown and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Turn oven off, and let meringue layers stand in oven with door closed for 2 to 3 hours.
MASTERING MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
Silky, stable, and endlessly adaptable, this buttercream is an emulsion of egg whites, sugar, and butter enriched with melted chocolate. Success comes down to temperature control and timing—warm the meringue just enough to dissolve the sugar, cool it before adding butter, and keep mixing until it transforms from thin and soupy to thick and smooth.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk together sugar and egg whites by hand. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, whisking occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F (71°C).
Carefully transfer sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form and bowl is cool to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. Add butter, 2 tablespoons (28 grams) at a time, beating until combined after each addition. (If buttercream breaks, beat for 2 to 3 minutes, and emulsion will come back together.)
ASSEMBLY AND FINISH
Alignment and temperature control yield clean layers and a polished finish. The dacquoise should be cool, the buttercream soft but stable—too firm and it tears the meringue, too warm and it slides. Think in textures, not temperatures: crisp meets creamy, structure meets softness.
Run an offset spatula around edges of meringue layers to release from pans. Gently invert meringue layers, discarding parchment. Place 1 layer on a serving plate. Spread 1 cup (180 grams) Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream onto meringue, and smooth with an offset spatula. Repeat with remaining meringue layers and buttercream. Spread remaining buttercream on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced almonds, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving or up to 4 hours. If refrigerated for longer than 30 minutes, cake may need to stand at room temperature for a few minutes before serving. Best served same day as made.
The post Baking School In-Depth: Dacquoise first appeared on Bake from Scratch.