Cakes and Gateaux Recipes - Coffee, Peach and Almond Daquoise

Ingredients

• 5 eggs, separated

• 425g/15oz caster sugar

• 15ml/1 tbsp corn-flour

• 175g/6oxz ground almonds, toasted

• 135ml/4 1/2fl oz milk

• 275g/10oz unsalted butter, diced

• 45-60ml/3-4 tbsp coffee essence

• 2 z 400g/14oz cans peach halves in juice, drained

• 65g/2 1/2oz flaked almonds, toasted

• icing sugar, for dusting

• few fresh mint leaves, to decorate

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Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Draw three 23cm/9in circles on to some greaseproof paper and place on baking sheets.

2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Gradually whisk in 275g/10oz/scant cups of the sugar until thick and glossy. Fold in the corn flour and almonds. Using a 1cm plain nozzle, pipe circles of the mixture on to the paper. Bake for 2 hours. Turn on to wire racks to cool.

3. For the butter-cream, beat together the egg yolks and remaining sugar until thick and pale. Heat the milk to boiling point and beat into the egg mixture. Return to the pan and heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Strain into a large bowl and beat until lukewarm. Gradually beat in the butter until glossy. Beat in the coffee essence.

4. Trim the meringues and crush the trimmings. Reserve 3 peach halves, chop the rest and fold into half the butter cream with the crushed meringue. Use to sandwich the meringues together and place on a serving plate.

5. Ice the cake with the plain butter cream. Cover the top with flaked almonds and dust generously with icing sugar. Thinly slice the reserved peaches and use to decorate the cake edge with some mint leaves.