For the meringue:
4 egg whites
190g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp cornflour
For the almonds:
60g sugar
100g whole almonds
For the filling:
1 egg white
350g mascarpone
140g Greek yoghurt
40g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
400g sweetened chestnut purée
4 tbsp rum
icing sugar for dusting
Serves 8-10 • Prep 25’ • Oven 20’ • A bit tricky
Start by making the meringue. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, and lightly grease with oil.
In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Gradually whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, and continue whisking until glossy. Add the vanilla extract, vinegar and cornflour and whisk again.
Spread the meringue evenly onto the prepared baking tray, making sure it’s at least 2cm thick, and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 150°C fan and bake for another 10 minutes.
While the meringue is baking, prepare the almonds and the fillings.
For the almonds: Put the sugar into a frying pan and melt over a medium heat. Once the sugar has melted, cook it for a minute until it turns golden. Add the almonds, stir with a wooden spoon so that the almonds get covered in caramel. Cook for another minute until the almonds are starting to turn golden and the caramel browns. Set aside and leave to cool. Once cooled, put the almonds in a plastic food bag and crush into rough chunks with a rolling pin.
For the mascarpone cream: Mount the egg white to snow. Put the mascarpone, Greek yoghurt, sugar and vanilla sugar into a bowl and whisk. Fold in the egg white.
For the chestnut cream: Combine the chestnut purée with the rum and whisk until smooth.
Take the meringue out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Then, turn onto another piece of baking paper so that the top side is facing down. Peel off the baking paper from the bottom half and set aside.
Assemble the meringue: Make sure the meringue is still upside down, so that you’re spreading everything onto the exposed inside of the meringue. Spread the chestnut cream onto the lower two-thirds of the meringue. Then, spread the mascarpone cream along the top half of the chestnut cream, so that it sits in the middle of the meringue rectangle. Sprinkle the mascarpone layer with the caramelized almond pieces.
Fold the chestnut side of the pastry over the mascarpone layer, then continue rolling onto the bare meringue end. The meringue will be quite brittle, so it’s normal for some of it to break. Cut off the edges. Carefully lift the meringue onto a serving tray and dust with icing sugar before serving.
Keep in the fridge until serving.