Recipe: Pistachio Dacquoise with Mango Curd

Inspired by a dessert I had at my favorite Nashville restaurant, Margot Cafe

When I set off on my journey to make All the Cakes™️, I added dacquoise to the list despite not reaaaaaally being a cake. Dacquoise is basically making discs/layers out of French macaron batter. These layers can be used in entremets, stacked as a cake, whatever you want.

The real reason I wanted to make dacquoise was a killer meal I’d eaten in Nashville a few years ago. I lived in Nashville for 5 years and Margot is HANDS DOWN my favorite restaurant there. I often eat too much at Margot, not able to miss out on menu items that change daily, but I always leave room for dessert. Specifically, I haven’t stopped thinking about the Pistachio Dacquoise with Mango Curd I had for dessert in 2021. Seriously, if you’re visiting Nashville please make a stop at Margot.

So here’s the recipe for a small batch that stacks layers of pistachio dacquoise, French buttercream and mango curd. This recipe creates 4 servings, but you’ll have plenty of leftover curd if you want to scale up the other bits. Personally, I plan to use the leftover curd in some coconut/mango thumbprint cookies.

Timing wise I’d go… 1) make curd, while curd is chilling 2) make dacquoise, while dacquoise is baking 3) make buttercream 4) assemble.

Ingredient tip: When a component calls for only the whites or yolks of an egg, make sure to save the excess! This recipe uses almost all eggs equally, with only 1 egg white left unused.

Ingredients

Mango Curd

• 2 ripe mangos, pureed (you’ll want 1 cup of puree)

• 100g sugar

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks (save your whites for the dacquoise)

• 115g cold, cubed butter

Pistachio Dacquoise

• 50g almond flour

• 50g pistachio flour (grind nuts in a food processor and run through a sieve to achieve flour)

• 75g powdered sugar

• 3 egg whites (save extra yolk for the curd)

• 25g sugar

French Buttercream

• 2 egg yolks

• 50g sugar

• 3 1/2 tbsp milk

• 115g butter, softened

• 1 tsp vanilla

For the Mango Curd

1. Whisk together everything except the butter in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until all of the sugar has dissolved.

2. Add the butter a few pieces at a time, stirring until each addition is incorporated.

3. Turn the heat to low and keep stirring for 2-3 minutes. The curd is done when it’s thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

4. Pour into a heat safe bowl and let chill in the fridge.

For the Pistachio Dacquoise

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat if you have one. Otherwise line with parchment.

2. Add nut flours and powdered sugar into a bowl and whisk until combined.

3. Separately, in the bowl of a stand mixer whisk the egg whites and sugar on high until glossy, medium peaks have formed.

4. Remove from mixer and gently fold in the nut flour mixture with a spatula. Place batter into a piping bag.

5. Pipe dacquoise in whatever shapes you’d like. I opted for 4 rectangles, about 5 x 3 inches in size. Dust generously with powdered sugar.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You’re looking for a matte finish and set appearance with a little bit of browning on the edges.

7. Let cool completely before assembly.

For the French Buttercream

1. Using (preferably) a hand mixer, whisk yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Since this is such a small batch a stand mixer is not ideal. You could also hand whisk or use an immersion blender.

2. Transfer mixture into a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thick like a pudding, 5-7 minutes. Pour the mixture into a heat safe bowl and let come to room temp.

3. Add butter in three batches, stirring with a spatula or hand mixer until combined. Using a hand mixer will result in a final texture that’s more whipped.

4. Finally, add the vanilla and mix until smooth.

Assembly

You can really assemble however you’d like! I opted for stacking the dacquoise like cake layers: dacquoise, buttercream, curd, dacquoise, buttercream, curd…. but you can also serve the dacquoise individually with buttercream and curd on top, sprinkled with pistachios. Totally up to you!

Here’s a video of making the dacquoise for my visual learners:

@surruhmaznPistachio Daquoise with Mango Curd 🥭 Full recipe, including the buttercream and curd, is free on my #substack! Link in my bio #recipe #recipesoftiktok #daquoise #daquoisepistache #cake #pistachio #mangos #mangoseason #frenchpastry #diypastryschool #pastries #fyp #bakersoftiktok #homebaker

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