Dacquoise with Raspberry Mousse is an amazing combination of three nutted meringue discs filled with a raspberry mousse that is enhanced with mascarpone. Made into individual desserts (who doesn't like their own dessert?) these stunning offerings are easy to make and easier to eat.
The Raspberry Mascarpone Mousse is a recipe I designed for the restaurant one year for Valentine's Day. While I could buy raspberry puree for the restaurant, I have not found one I like that is offered to the public. Using seedless red raspberry jam which has been smoothed out in a processor makes an intensely raspberry flavor even with the addition of whipping cream and mascarpone.
Be sure to check out some other fruit desserts including: Roasted Peaches with Amaretti Crisp, Strawberry Verrines, Banana Bread Pudding, and Apple Pie ala Mode with Salted Caramel.
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Memo on Meringues
Meringues are basically egg whites and sugar beaten to various consistencies depending upon what they are going to be used for.
From there they can vary in many ways. Extracts, oils, and powders can be used for flavoring. Any nut can be added for flavoring. Italian, French and Swiss meringues are all put together differently with the end result being a stiff mixture that can be piped, dropped or spread into cookies, cake layers or for piping onto pies such as lemon meringue and of course Baked Alaska.
Coming from Europe the most used nuts are hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios. For some reason, walnuts, although abundant in Europe are not use
Dacquoise is a type of meringue that has finely ground nuts folded into it. It is also the name of a dessert. Broyage, Japonaise, and Nutted Meringues are all the same thing. Broyage is the Swiss name for nutted meringue and Japonaise is the French word for Japan – I have no idea how this came about. What I do know is they are all delicious.
Room Temperature or Cold Egg Whites
There is some controversy over whether egg whites should be room temperature or cold when whipping. Either way works but there are differences.
Room temperature egg whites whip up a bit faster but with bigger air bubbles which can break more easily when folding in ingredients. If the egg whites are cold, the air bubbles are smaller making for a firmer meringue in which the air bubbles stay intact better, everything else being equal. At the bakery and for home cooking, I am in the beat them cold camp.
Tips for Adding the Sugar
Conventional wisdom has always been to add the sugar slowly to egg whites beaten to the soft peak stage. However, while it may take a couple of minutes longer, I add the sugar to the egg whites all at once. I find no discernible difference and I don't have to stand around slowly adding it.
The second tip is to use Baker's sugar which is simply more finely ground granulated sugar so it dissolves more easily, completely, and quickly into the whites which is key to how high they whip. Baker's sugar can be easily made at home and kept in an airtight container. See my post on Three Easy Sugar Fixes.
Low and Slow
The one caveat is to make any meringue, nutted or not, is to make it on a dry day. Sugar is hydroscopic which means it attracts water and is difficult to dry out if there is high humidity. To help ensure the meringues dry well, cornstarch is sometimes added to the mixture.
Because meringues are basically dried out, not baked, they should be done so in low heat so as not to brown them. In culinary school you are often graded on how white the meringue is while being dried throughout. I wouldn't get too worried about that - a little color is not a problem. You just don't want then really browned.
Recipe Ingredients
Hazelnut Meringues
FRONT ROW: Toasted Hazelnuts, cornstarch, vanilla extract
BACK ROW: Granulated sugar, egg whites
Raspberry Mousse
FRONT ROW: Gelatin, red food coloring is not shown and is optional but makes the mousse look more appealing.
MIDDLE ROW: Mascarpone, powdered sugar
BACK ROW: Heavy Cream, seedless red raspberry jam, lemon juice
Important Ingredients
- Important Ingredients
- Baker's sugar is best for meringues. See information above.
- My preference is to use cold egg whites
- Always toast the nuts for the most flavor
- Seedless red raspberry jam is perfect for the flaovring
- The lemon juice adds a bit of tang to the moussse
- Mascarpone is a very smooth, creamy cheese often used in desserts such as tiramasu. It adds body as well as flavor. It can be expensive depending upon where you buy it. I find Trader Joe's has the best price.
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients & instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Hazelnut Meringues
Step 1. Toast the hazelnuts in a 350°F oven for 7 to 10 minutes. To remove the skins easily see my post Hazelnut Gianduja. After the nuts have been cooled, place them in the processor bowl with the cornstarch. Step 2. Process until the nuts are finely ground. Step 3. Place the egg whites, vanilla and baker's sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Step 4. Whip until the meringue is very stiff.
Step 5. Add the nut/cornstarch mixture to the meringue. Step 6. Fold the nut mixture into the meringue gently so as not to deflate the meringue. Do not over fold. The meringue should remain firm. Step 7. Using a cookie cutter or pastry circle, draw nine 3 ½" circles, equally spaced, on a piece of parchment the size of the pan. Place a second piece of parchment on top. Fit a pastry bag with a number 3 or 4 open tip.
Holding the tip about ½ inch above the template, pipe the batter in the circles starting in the middle and moving out to the edges. Alternatively, measure a heaping tablespoon of meringue for each circle and spread it within the circle with a small offset spatula. Remove the template, place it on a second half sheet pan and top it with another plain piece of parchment paper. Repeat filling the circles with the meringue. Remove the template before baking. Step 8. Bake for about 1 hour until they are completely dry. Place the parchment on racks to cool completely. They should come off by just lifting them. When completely cooled, place in airtight containers where they can be held for weeks.
Raspberry Mousse
Step 9. Dissolve the gelatin in the lemon juice. Set aside. Step 10. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Remove to another bowl and set aside. Step 11. Have the mascarpone at room temperature. Without cleaning the bowl, add the mascarpone. Whisk until soft. If it is too cold, it may look a bit curdled. That's fine. Step 12. Add the raspberry jam a third at a time.
Step 13. Microwave the gelatin for about 8 to 10 seconds until liquid. Pour into the mascarpone/raspberry mixture and whisk to incorporated. It may look slightly curdled but that will be taken care of in the next step. Step 14. Fold in the cream. It will look rather purplish and not too appetizing at this point. Add red food coloring a few drops at a time until a pleasant color is achieved. Refrigerate until almost set up. It will depend upon how cold your refrigerator is but it took mine about 2 ½ hours. Step 15. Fit a piping bag with an #8 or 9 open star tip. Fill the piping bag about ⅔ full and holding the bag about ½ inch from the disc, pipe the mousse in a circle to within about ¼ inch of the edge. Fill the middle by piping the mousse into it. Pipe 12 circles in this manner. Step 16. Stack 2 of them on top of each other. Top with the 3rd plain meringue disc. Do not press down too hard or the meringue will break. Refrigerate.
Recipe FAQS
Weeping refers to beads of unincorporated sugar rising to the top of the meringues when dried. To avoid this, use Baker's sugar and make sure the sugar is dissolved in the egg whites by taking a bit of the whipped meringue between your fingers. If it is gritty it needs to be whipped more. Baker's sugar can be made at home simply. See my post Three Easy Sugar Fixes to make it.
The three most common are French, Swiss and Italian.
The French meringue is the most common, he lightest and the least stable but also the easiest. It is simply egg whites, sugar, and possibly cream of tartar and a flavoring. This mixture can be beaten to differing stiffnesses and used for cookies, to fold into other ingredients, as a topping for cakes and pies and is the base for marshmallows.
Expert Tips
- Don't over beat the cream for the mousse. If it is too stiff the air will be diminished when folding into the other ingredients resulting in a heavy mousse.
- The use of food coloring enhances the looks of the mousse which will naturally be purplish.
- It is important to have the mascarpone at room temperature to prevent curdling when whipping it.
- Make the template for the meringue discs so they are all the same size and will stack nicely.
- The discs can be made days ahead and stored in an airtight container.
- Toast the nuts for the most intense flavor.
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Dacquoise with Raspberry Mousse
Ingredients
Hazelnut Meringues
- 2 ounces hazelnuts or almonds or half and half (60 grams)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (15 grams)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons baker's or granulated sugar (225 grams)
- ½ cup egg whites (about 4 from large eggs)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Raspberry Mousse
- 1 cup seedless red raspberry jam (285 grams)
- 2 teaspoons gelatin
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar (45 grams)
- 8 ounces mascarpone (225 grams)
- Red food coloring, optional, as needed
Instructions
Hazelnut Meringues
- Line two half sheets with parchment paper. Place one rack in the oven on the bottom and the second on the middle rung.
- Using a cookie cutter or pastry circle, draw nine 3 ½" circles, equally spaced, on a piece of parchment the size of the pan. This is your template. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the hazelnuts or almonds or half and half on a sheet pan and toast for 7 to 10 minutes until fragrant and medium brown. To remove the skins easily, see my post Hazelnut Gianduja. Cool completely.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F.
- Combine the cooled hazelnuts and cornstarch in the bowl of a processor. Process until the hazelnuts are finely ground. Set aside.
- Whip the egg whites, sugar and vanilla until very stiff, about 8 to 10 minutes depending upon the machine. Fold the hazelnut/cornstarch mixture in by hand. Do not over fold and break the mixture down. It should remain firm.
- Place the template on a half sheet pan. Place another sheet of parchment over it. Fit a pastry bag with a number 3 or 4 plain tip. Holding the tip about ½ inch above the template, pipe the batter in the circles starting in the middle and moving out to the edges. Alternatively, measure a heaping tablespoon of meringue for each circle and spread it within the circle with a small offset spatula.
- Remove the template, place it on a second half sheet pan and top it with another plain piece of parchment paper. Repeat filling the circles with the meringue.
- Bake for about 1 hour until they are completely dry. Place the parchment with the meringues on racks to cool completely. They should come off by just lifting them. When completely cooled, place in airtight containers where they can be held for weeks.
Raspberry Mousse
- Place the raspberry jam in the processor bowl. Process until smooth.
- Dissolve the gelatin in the lemon juice. Set aside.
- Whip the cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Remove to another bowl and set aside.
- Without cleaning the bowl, add the room temperature mascarpone. Whisk until soft. Add the raspberry jam a third at a time.
- Microwave the gelatin for about 8 to 10 seconds until liquid. Pour into the mascarpone/raspberry mixture and whisk to incorporated.
- Fold in the cream. It will look rather purplish and not too appetizing at this point. Add red food coloring a few drops at a time until a pleasant color is achieved.
- Refrigerate until almost set up. It will depend upon how cold your refrigerator is but it took mine about 2 ½ hours
- Fit a piping bag with an #8 or 9 open star tip. Fill the piping bag about ⅔ full and holding the bag about ½ inch from the disc, pipe the mousse in a circle to within about ¼ inch of the edge. Fill the middle by piping the mousse into it. Pipe 12 circles in this manner
- Stack 2 meringue discs with mousse on top of each other. Place the plain hazelnut meringue on top. Do not press down too hard or the meringue will break.
Finishing
- I had left over ganache from another project so I used a smaller tip and piped a bit in the center of the meringue disc. I finished with a whole hazelnut.
- Alternatively, if you don't have any ganache, melt a bit of chocolate and drizzle it from side to side or simply sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Bruce says
In the body of the post, you accidentally have steps 11 and 12 being essentially the same step, although worded differently. I think you decided to change the wording, but forgot to delete the original version. Fortunately, in the recipe part, you didn't do that.
Helen S Fletcher says
I appreciate you sending me this Bruce. I have corrected the post so it reads correctly now.
Sandra says
Thanks for another wonderful recipe! I especially appreciate your recognition that some ingredients — like mascarpone — can be prohibitively expensive (something many cooking sites don’t ever acknowledge). I love using mascarpone and was delighted when I realized that it’s super easy to make at home with grocery-store whipping cream and a lemon. Now I make my own whenever I’m planning a special dessert. Best of both worlds: great bakes and saving money!
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Sandra - Whenever I can I try to point out where products can be bought for a better price. Trader Joe's is a favorite of mine because they have quality products and the prices are most often better. Vanilla is another place I suggest McCormick imitation vanilla and not pure vanilla. I save that for where it matters. You are not going to taste the difference in chocolate, heavily spiced items and most baking. Yes, in pastry cream, and butter cookies I use the real stuff and often Tahitian vanilla. See my article, The Making of Vanilla, for in depth information on both pure and imitation vanilla.
Kathy W says
I haven’t tried making this yet, but just wanted to give you a heads up that photos, except for the top photo of the finished dessert, are not loading. One of the best things about your site is that you post very helpful process photos, so thought you might want to know.
Helen S Fletcher says
Thanks so much Kathy. Looking into to it now.
Kathy W says
And it’s fixed! Thanks, Helen!
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Again, I just came in to tell you that. Thanks for pointing it out. Enjoy the recipe.
Eileen Murphy says
Hi Helen,
I can’t wait to try this. I am a fool for anything raspberry. We are in a rainy weather cycle right now so I will have to wait. I wonder when I do the dacquoise, am I able to freeze them?
Thanks for any advice you can give .
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Eileen - We went through so much rain for so long and then the heat and now it's better so I do understand. I can't seen any reason why you couldn't freeze these. Just thaw in the fridge. Let me know when you try these. I agree about loving raspberry.
Janet Woodward says
Hello Helen, it always good to read the recipes. This diabetic just dare not actually make them..I can and do have a lot of fun just reading...Hope you and your family are all well and happy....Love. Janet & fur assistants Flora Thunderpaws and Daisy Rose
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Janet - I love hearing from you. Hope you and all are good.
Mary says
Meringue with Raspberry filling is a lovely simple dessert which will impress your guests with the lovely fresh flavours.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Mary - Thanks for your insightful comment. I agree!