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For the holidays, the traditional festive pav is being swapped for a similarly delightful dessert featuring meringue. Crisp discs of meringue with pistachio are assembled with creamy pistachio filling and juicy cherry mixture. As it rests, the meringue layers give slightly under the cream, resulting in a pleasantly chewy feel. This makes a wonderful alternative for Christmas dining that omits chocolate, alcohol, or dried fruit.

Pistachio and Cherry Meringue Cake

Thanks to the craze of a well-known confection, sweet pistachio paste is now readily available in many grocery stores. The spread is sugar-added and imparts a lovely, soft green hue. One might use unsweetened nut butter instead, though the hue might be muddier and it may require to balance the flavor.

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

Instructions

Begin by preheating the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Prepare three baking sheets with parchment paper. Take an 18cm cake ring, outline a circle on every sheet. Turn the paper upside down so the pen marks don't come into contact the meringue.

Using a processor the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until mostly fine – some texture of pistachio are just fine.

In a large bowl and beat at medium speed until light and bubbly. Whisk more vigorously and mix until you have soft peaks. Keeping the mixer on, gradually add the caster sugar until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks.

Carefully incorporate the processed nuts into the meringue, being careful not to knock out the air. Place the batter into a pastry bag and trim about 2.5cm from the tip.

Beginning at the perimeter of each outline, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Even it out using a palette knife. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the meringues are lightly browned and feel firm. They should peel away cleanly when cool. Allow to cool fully on the trays.

Meanwhile, combine the compote ingredients. Put the cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a pot and cook on a medium-low flame until the cherries begin to release juice. Let it come to a simmer and cook for about five minutes until the cherries are softened. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon to a bowl, reserving the syrup in the pan. Reduce the liquid until it has thickened slightly, then combine it with the cherries. Leave to cool.

For the pistachio cream, beat the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until it holds soft peaks.

For construction, neaten the edges of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, using the 18cm guide. Position the bottom meringue on a platter and spread on a some of the whipped cream. Make a shallow dip (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the center and add some of the cherries (this prevents the syrup from leaking). Place the second layer and repeat with more cream and cherries, reserving a portion for the final garnish.

Set the top layer and frost the entire cake with the remaining cream, spreading it with a offset spatula. Adhere the extra nuts onto the edges.

Transfer any leftover cream into a pastry bag with a star tip and add decorative dollops on top. Garnish with the remaining fruit and chill until ready to serve.