Benjamina Ebuehi's Recipe for Cherry and Pistachio Meringue Cake

For the holidays, the traditional festive pav is making way for a equally impressive dessert featuring meringue. Baked layers of pistachio-infused meringue are stacked with creamy pistachio filling and tart cherry sauce. As it rests, the meringue softens slightly from the moisture, creating a soft and tender texture. It's a fantastic choice for Christmas dining without chocolate, alcohol, or dried fruit.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Thanks to the craze of a recent social media sensation, ready-made pistachio spread is easy to find in most supermarkets. The spread is sugar-added and offers a lovely, soft green hue. An alternative is unsweetened nut butter if preferred, though the color may be duller 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

Instructions

Begin by preheating the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Prepare three baking sheets with parchment paper. Trace around an 18cm plate, outline a circle on the parchment. 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 perfectly acceptable.

In a large bowl and beat at medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed and continue to whisk until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add the caster sugar until the meringue is thick, stiff, and glossy.

Carefully incorporate the ground nut mix into the meringue, ensuring not to knock out the air. Transfer the mixture into a large piping bag and trim about 2.5cm from the tip.

Starting from the outer edge of each drawn circle, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Even it out gently. Place in the oven until the meringues are pale gold and are set to the touch. They should release easily when cool. Allow to cool fully on the trays.

Meanwhile, make the compote. Add the frozen cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a pot and heat gently until the cherries begin to release juice. Increase the heat to boil and cook for 5-6 minutes until the cherries are broken down slightly. Transfer the fruit to a bowl, reserving the syrup in the pan. Simmer the syrup until it has reduced by just over half, then pour it over the cherries. Set aside to cool.

For the pistachio cream, beat the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until smooth and spreadable.

When building the cake, neaten the edges of each meringue disc with a gentle sawing motion, using the 18cm guide. Place one disc on a platter and cover with a generous amount of the whipped cream. Form a depression (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the center and spoon in some of the cherries (this prevents the compote from running). Add another disc and repeat the process, reserving a portion for the final garnish.

Add the last meringue and mask the cake with the remaining cream, smoothing it with a knife. Press the chopped pistachios onto the vertical surface.

Transfer any leftover cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and add decorative dollops on top. Garnish with the reserved cherries and keep cold until it's time to eat.