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This year, the traditional festive pav is getting replaced for a wonderfully different dessert featuring meringue. Baked layers of meringue with pistachio are assembled with smooth nut cream and juicy cherry mixture. Upon assembly, the meringue softens slightly under the cream, resulting in a pleasantly chewy feel. This makes a wonderful alternative for Christmas dining free from chocolate, alcohol, or dried fruit.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Inspired by the craze of a well-known confection, sweet pistachio paste is easy to find in most supermarkets. It is pre-sweetened and provides a beautiful pale green color. You could opt for unsweetened nut butter instead, however the tone can be less vibrant 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

Method

Begin by heating your oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Cover three trays with greaseproof paper. Take an 18cm cake ring, draw a circle on each piece of paper. Turn the paper upside down so the pen marks don't come into contact the meringue.

In a food processor the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until mostly fine – some larger bits of pistachio are just fine.

Place the egg whites and whisk on medium until frothy. Whisk more vigorously and mix until the whites hold a soft peak. With the mixer running, gradually add the caster sugar until the meringue is firm, shiny, and holds its shape.

Gently fold the ground nut mix into the meringue, ensuring not to over-mix. Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag and trim about an inch from the tip.

Beginning at the perimeter of each pencil template, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Smooth the surface using a palette knife. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the meringues are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped. They should peel away cleanly when cool. Remove and cool completely.

While the meringues bake, prepare the cherry sauce. Place all compote ingredients in a pan and heat gently until the cherries begin to release juice. Let it come to a simmer and cook for five or six minutes until the cherries are tender. Transfer the fruit to a bowl, keeping the liquid in the pan. Simmer the syrup until it has halved in volume, then mix it back with the cherries. Leave to cool.

To make the filling, beat the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until just thickened.

When building the cake, even out the discs of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, for a clean edge. Position the bottom meringue on a platter and cover with a some of the whipped cream. Form a depression (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the center and spoon in some of the cherries (this contains the syrup from leaking). Place the second layer and repeat the process, saving a few cherries for the final garnish.

Add the last meringue and cover the top and sides with the rest of the pistachio cream, spreading it with a offset spatula. Pat the reserved pistachios onto the sides.

Put the remaining filling into a pastry bag with a star tip and add decorative dollops on top. Add the the saved cherries and keep cold until it's time to eat.