Lately I’ve been trying out some sugar-free gluten-free recipes , and I have to say this is my favorite so far! I love forest fruits like strawberries, blackberries, raspberries (basically all berries haha) and thought that if I found a substitute for sugar in a dacquoise then maybe I could do something with it!? A dacquoise is a merengue and nut based pavlova.. you use it in many cakes like Opera cake or mousse cakes .. something where you would generally have cream or something of a light consistency on top. I researched and found that Xylotol can be substituted 1:1 to sugar. And it tastes exactly the same! It’s very expensive but if your on a diet and looking for a nice treat then once in a while this would definitely do the trick!

Of course I could’ve made a massive cake with it, but because it’s super expensive and I really didn’t want to go bananas with indulging myself too much, I decided on a small 6 portion dacquoise cake. Which mind you, turned out AMAZINGLY!

I’ve used 85% chocolate as well, with almond flour and some macadamia nuts, to give it some depth. It’s not hard to make at all, and tastes super duper!

Here’s how you make it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup Xylotol (of course if your not on a diet substitute this with regular sugar, it’s 1:1 in measurement)
• 1/4 almond flour (finely ground)
• 12 macadamia nuts (chopped)
• 1 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract (I get mine from femtorp – link here)
• 20 g dark chocolate 85%(melted and cooled)
• 4 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 250 g Whipped cream (ready whipped and chilled)
• 200 g of Berries of your choice – I chose Blackberries, Raspberries and Strawberries, and ofcourse you can have more than 200g if you like! 🙂

METHOD:

1. Turn your oven onto 170C degrees, and then once warmed turn it down to 100C. Line a baking tray with baking paper/parchment paper.
2. Pour you egg whites into a large mixing bowl, with your salt, and mix on high until soft peaks form.
3. Then add in your sugar substitute, Xylotol, and mix on high until stiff peaks form. Then add in your vanilla extract and mix until fully combined.
4. Fold in your almond flour and chopped macadamia nuts carefully not letting any air out, so it stays as fluffy as you can get it to.
5. Then pipe or pour onto your prepares baking pan, 3 6″ circles, and drizzle the cooled melted chocolate over. Take a knife and make swirls into the meringue so that the chocolate goes through without cutting out the air.
6. Then bake for an hour with the oven door closed, and then bake for another 40 min with the oven door ajar at 100C degrees.
7. Once out, flip them over and remove the baking paper and let them cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, cut your berries or fruits into small pieces, and mix in a bowl together.
9. Then to assemble, start with one layer, spread half a cup or so of your cooled whipped cream and sprinkle some berrie son it. Then place the second layer ontop and do the same, and the third.
10. And voila! your sugar free, gluten free, very yummy dessert is ready!!! Try to eat it the same day, however it stays well int he fridge for up to 2 days.

ENJOY!