Japonaise Biscuits (Sandwiched Almond Meringues)

I first tried these a few weeks ago when I visited York. They are composed of two almond meringues filled with a coffee buttercream. When I arrived back home I had to try to make my own, and here is my recipe. It’s very simple, nutty and sweet, with a slight background of coffee. Try it out and impress your friends!

Makes 8-10 biscuits

Ingredients:

For the meringues:

• 90g ground almonds

• 2 egg whites

• 50g caster sugar

• 30g cornflour

• 50g mixed chopped nuts

For the filling:

• 50g butter, softened

• 150g icing sugar

• 1 tsp coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

Method:

1.     Preheat your oven to 180c/160c fan/ gas mark 4. Grease and flour the base of a baking tray.

2.     Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl with an electric whisk until the egg whites are very white and foamy.  Gradually add 35g of the caster sugar, one teaspoon at a time. Whisk for approximately 3-5 minutes, until the meringue is white, glossy and forms soft peaks (when the whisk is lifted from the meringue a peak is formed, with the tip slightly toppling over).

3.     In a separate bowl, combine 15g of caster sugar with the ground almonds and cornflour. Sift into the meringue mixture, and use a spatula to gently fold in (mix as little as possible).

4.     Place the almond meringue mixture into a piping bag, and pipe swirls, approximately 3cm in diameter. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the meringues are light brown and firm to the touch. If you are baking on more than one tray, switch the trays halfway through to allow even cooking.

5.     Leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack – the easiest way to do this is by using a palette knife.

6.     Whilst the meringues are cooling, make the buttercream. Cream the butter in a bowl until very soft, then add the icing sugar. Add 1 tbsp coffee/water and stir to a thick paste.

7.     Once cooled assemble the biscuits. Pipe buttercream on the centre of each meringue and sandwich together. Alternatively, for an impressive dessert, stack more than two layers of meringue by alternating the meringue with the buttercream.

8.     Cover the tops and sides of the meringue biscuits with buttercream and cover with the mixed chopped nuts.

9.     Devour.