If you've never tried a dacquoise recipe before, you're in for a real treat. This Almond Dacquoise Cake with Orange Buttercream is a delicious French dessert featuring layers of almond-flavored nutty meringue with an indulgent orange buttercream filling.
A dacquoise (pronounced "da-kwaz") is essentially a delicate French meringue cake made from whipped egg whites, almond flour (also called almond meal), and sugar, baked until golden brown. Filled and covered with rich, flavorful French buttercream, this cake is pure decadence and part of my growing collection of cakes and entremets you can find on my blog.
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Why You'll Love This Cake
- Perfect for Special Occasions: Birthdays, small celebrations, or even just a special Sunday dessert.
- Elegant yet Simple: Despite its impressive appearance, it’s straightforward enough to make at home.
- Great Make-Ahead Recipe: This tastes even better the next day as the flavors meld beautifully overnight in an airtight container.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Egg whites: Provide the base for the airy and crispy dacquoise layers; room temperature egg whites whip up to greater volume.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the dacquoise and stabilizes the whipped egg whites.
- All-purpose flour: This adds structure to the meringue layers.
- Almond flour or almond meal (or ground almonds): This gives the dacquoise its characteristic nutty flavor and chewy texture. For variety, try substituting almonds with hazelnuts or pistachios to make a hazelnut dacquoise or pistachio dacquoise cake.
- Egg yolks: Create the creamy, rich texture in the buttercream filling.
- Powdered sugar (icing sugar): Dissolves easily into the buttercream, providing sweetness and a silky texture.
- Unsalted butter (softened): Provides richness and smoothness to the buttercream.
- Orange zest and fresh juice: Brightens the buttercream with refreshing citrus flavor and aroma.
- Shaved chocolate (dark chocolate recommended): Adds an elegant finishing touch and complementary chocolate flavor.
How To Make This Cake
Baking the Dacquoise Layers:
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 350F/180C.
Step 2. Separate egg yolks from egg whites carefully, making sure you place egg whites in a clean bowl of a stand mixer.
Step 3. Beat egg whites using the whisk attachment at medium speed until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar in a steady stream. Increase to high speed until you reach stiff peaks.
Step 4. Using a spatula, gently fold in flour and almond flour. Be careful to mix only a little bit to avoid losing air from your French meringue.
Step 5. Line a 7x11-inch baking sheet or cake tin with parchment paper. Spread ⅓ of the meringue mixture evenly and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown at the edges.
Let each layer cool on a wire rack. Repeat this two more times for the other cake layers.
Preparing Orange-Flavored French Buttercream:
Step 1. In a heatproof medium bowl placed over hot water (Bain-Marie), whisk egg yolks, powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice until thickened like pastry cream.
Step 2. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Step 3. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, slowly incorporate room temperature butter, piece by piece, until you achieve a smooth, creamy consistency.
Assembling the Cake:
- Place one cooled dacquoise layer on a serving plate or back into the parchment-lined pan.
- Spread a generous layer of buttercream using an offset spatula.
- Continue layering dacquoise and buttercream, finishing with buttercream.
- Decorate the entire cake with shaved chocolate.
Helpful Tips for Success:
- Keep the oven door closed while baking to prevent collapsing the meringue layers.
- Egg whites whip better at room temperature in a clean bowl.
- Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least an hour before serving. Use a sharp knife dipped in hot water to slice cleanly.
- Wrap leftovers gently with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliated links)
- For this recipe, I used my life saver KitchenAid Mixer.
- I also used a 7x11 inch baking pan and a hand mixer.
Enjoy!
More Cake Recipes To Love
- No Bake Orange Mousse Cake
- Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake- Gluten Free Recipe
- Classic European Chocolate Ganache Meringue Cake
📖 Recipe
Almond Dacquoise Cake With Orange Buttercream
Ingredients
For 3 layers of Dacquoise cake
- 9 egg whites
- 9 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 15 tablespoons almond flour
Orange flavored buttercream
- 9 egg yolks
- 1 ⅔ cups powdered sugar
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- zest from 1 orange
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons grated dark chocolate for decor
Instructions
Dacquoise cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
- Using a KitchenAid mixer beat the egg whites to a stiff pick.
- Add the sugar little by little and continue beating until shiny.
- Stop the mixer and fold in the all purpose flour and the almond flour with a spatula.
- Line up a 7x11 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Pour ⅓ of the mix on the baking pan and spread it with a spatula.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden brown on the edges.
- Remove from the pan and continue with the same step until you bake all 3 layers.
- While the cake cools down, prepare the buttercream.
Orange Flavored Buttercream:
- Create a double boiler(or Bain-Marie) and place the egg yolks, powdered sugar, orange peel, and orange juice in a bowl. Whisk the mixture until it becomes thick, like a mayonnaise.
- Cool down the mixture(it will get thicker) and start adding the butter at room temperature, little by little mixing with a hand mixer. Set aside until ready to assemble the cake or refrigerate.
How to assemble the cake:
- On the same 7x11 inch baking pan place a layer of cake on the bottom.
- Spread ⅓ of the buttercream over the cake and cover with the next layer of cake.
- Repeat with buttercream and the last layer of cake.
- Cover the whole surface with the buttercream and grate some chocolate over.
- Refrigerate for an hour, cut in squares and serve.
Notes
- Freshly squeezed orange juice provides the best flavor. You’ll need approximately ¼ cup of juice from half a medium-sized orange.
- Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk attachment are completely clean and free from grease to properly whip the egg whites.
- For best texture, allow the assembled cake to rest overnight before serving.
- This cake should ideally be stored in the fridge, covered or in an airtight container, for up to 3-4 days.
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