🔗 Share this article

This year, the traditional festive pav is getting replaced for a similarly delightful dessert featuring meringue. Golden rounds of pistachio-infused meringue are assembled with a lush pistachio cream and a vibrant cherry compote. As it rests, the meringue softens slightly under the cream, resulting in a pleasantly chewy texture. It's a wonderful alternative for a holiday sweet free from chocolate, alcohol, or dried fruit.

Pistachio and Cherry Meringue Cake

Inspired by the popularity of a well-known confection, pistachio creme is now readily available in most supermarkets. This product is pre-sweetened and provides a beautiful pale green color. An alternative is unsweetened nut butter instead, though the hue might be muddier and you'll likely need 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

Directions

First, preheating the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Prepare three baking sheets with parchment paper. Take an 18cm cake ring, draw a circle on the parchment. Invert the paper so the pen marks won't transfer the meringue.

In a food processor the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until largely ground – some larger bits of pistachio are just fine.

Using a stand mixer and whisk on medium until foamy. Whisk more vigorously and beat until the whites hold a soft peak. Keeping the mixer on, slowly pour in the caster sugar until the meringue is firm, shiny, and holds its shape.

Gently fold the ground nut mix into the meringue, being careful not to knock out the air. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag and trim about a generous opening from the tip.

Beginning at the perimeter of each pencil template, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Level the top using a palette knife. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the meringues are lightly browned and feel firm. They should come off the paper when cool. Allow to cool fully on the trays.

In the meantime, combine the compote ingredients. Put the cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until the cherries start to thaw and liquid forms. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-6 minutes until the cherries are broken down slightly. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon to a bowl, reserving the syrup in the pan. Reduce the liquid until it has reduced by just over half, then pour it over the cherries. Allow to reach room temperature.

To make the filling, combine the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until just thickened.

For construction, trim the sides of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, following the original circle. Position the bottom meringue on a cake stand and spread on a layer of the whipped cream. Form a depression (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the middle and spoon in some of the cherries (this contains the compote from running). Top with the next meringue layer and repeat with more cream and cherries, reserving a portion for the top decoration.

Set the top layer and frost the entire cake with the leftover filling, smoothing it with a knife. Adhere the extra nuts onto the edges.

Transfer any leftover cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and add decorative dollops on top. Top with the reserved cherries and refrigerate before serving.