White and Dark Chocolate Dacquoise part 2

The meringue is the persnickety part of the whole thing. Or at least the most persnickety. If you missed part one click right here

Next comes the buttercream but it isn't the sugary sweet stuff on the store cakes. Ok. If I am honest it is still plenty rich though.

This is with the white chocolate but you get the idea

Using a double boiler you melt 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate and 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. If you have never done a double boiler, you place a bowl over a saucepan with an inch or two of boiling water but be sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. I like covering the bowl with cling wrap to be sure that no water droplets get in the chocolate so it doesn't seize. It will take about 8 minutes.

You then remove that bowl from the heat and put on one with 8 ounces of white chocolate and let it melt for 8 minutes. The dark chocolate will need stirring to make it look melted and then after the while chocolate is done, you stir it as well.

While these are heating cream 1 pound of butter. Yep, 1 pound or 16 ounces or 4 sticks. After the chocolate has cooled a bit, stir half of the butter up with the dark chocolate and the other half with the white chocolate.

Then wash the bowl really quickly but be sure to get every single drop of oil off the mixing bowl and beat 8 egg whites Whisk on high until stiff but not dry, about 1 ½ minutes. Gradually add ¾ cup of granulated sugar and whisk on high for 1 ½ more minutes. Remove bowl from the mixer and divide egg white mixture between white chocolate mixture and dark chocolate mixture. Use rubber spatulas to thoroughly combine both mixtures (still keeping white chocolate separate from dark chocolate.) Place each in its own pastry bag without a tip.

Remove one meringue rectangle (circle) from parchment paper and place bottom side down on work surface. Using pastry bags, pipe a ½ inch wide strip of dark chocolate buttercream along one short end. Pipe an equal sized strip of the white chocolate, then another line of dark chocolate and another line of white chocolate. Continue until the meringue is covered with buttercream. (If you are doing circles, just do a circle of dark then a slightly smaller circle of white then a smaller circle of dark then white until you reach the center.)

Place the other meringue, top down on buttercream pressing gently down. (With the circle cake, you have more butter cream to pipe on this layer just like you did the bottom layer, then top with the remaining buttercream.) Place the entire cake in a freezer for at least 1 hour.

Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into 5 strips approximately 1 ½ inch strips length-wise.

sorry for the horrible color, we were tired and it was late

Then cut a triangle off the end and then cut parallel strips a little over an inch wide making 6 diamonds (parallelograms) per strip for a total of 30. (You will have a left-over triangle on each side of each strip to eat or throw away.) Set diamonds aside. (skip this whole part for the circles.)

like this, except I think someone ate the triangle off the right side

I promise it won't take as long to get the last steps posted but for now, here is the recipe so far:

White and Dark Chocolate Dacquoise

Meringue

          ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

          1 tablespoon cornstarch

          8 egg whites

          ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

          1/8 teaspoon salt

          1 cup granulated sugar

White and dark chocolate buttercream

          6 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into ½ ounce pieces

          2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into ½ ounce pieces

          8 ounces white chocolate, broken into ½ ounce pieces

          1 pound unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

          8 egg whites

          ¾ cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

To make the meringue:

Draw two 8x11 rectangles on a sheet of parchment paper with a pencil and lay face down on a cookie sheet large enough (or put on 2 cookie sheets). Set aside.

Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and corn starch. Set aside.

Place 8 egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high until stiff but not dry, about 1 ½ minutes. Gradually add granulated sugar while still whisking on high for an additional minute. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the dry, sifted ingredients.

Fill a pastry bag with no tip with meringue and trace around both drawn rectangles with a ½ inch thick piping of meringue, then fill in with remaining meringue. Place in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake for an additional 2 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 30 minutes before handling.

To Make the buttercream icing:

Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place 6 ounces semisweet chocolate and 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate in the top portion of the double boiler. Tightly cover with film wrap and place over the water. Allow to heat for 8 minutes. Remove chocolate from heat and place in a stainless steel bowl. Use a whisk and stir until smooth. Repeat with white chocolate. Set both melted chocolates aside and allow to cool slightly.

Place 1 pound butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat butter on low for 1 minute then scrape down the paddle and the bowl. Beat on medium for 2 minutes and then scrape the paddle and the bowl again. Beat on high for 5 minutes until light and creamy. Evenly divide the butter into the two chocolate bowls and use rubber spatulas to thoroughly fold the butter into the chocolates. Set aside.

Place 8 egg whites into a very clean electric mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high until stiff but not dry, about 1 ½ minutes. Gradually add ¾ cup of granulated sugar and whisk on high for 1 ½ more minutes. Remove bowl from the mixer and divide egg white mixture between white chocolate mixture and dark chocolate mixture. Use rubber spatulas to thoroughly combine both mixtures (still keeping white chocolate separate from dark chocolate.) Place each in its own pastry bag without a tip.

Remove one meringue rectangle from parchment paper and place bottom side down on work surface. Using pastry bags, pipe a ½ inch wide strip of dark chocolate buttercream along one short end. Pipe an equal sized strip of the white chocolate, then another line of dark chocolate and another line of white chocolate. Continue until the meringue is covered with buttercream. Place the other meringue, top down on buttercream pressing gently down. Place the entire cake in a freezer for at least 1 hour.

Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into 5 strips approximately 1 ½ inch strips length-wise. Then cut a triangle off the end and then cut parallel strips a little over an inch wide making 6 diamonds (parallelograms) per strip for a total of 30. (You will have a left-over triangle on each side of each strip to eat or throw away.)  Set diamonds aside.