This is another dessert recipe featuring my chestnut cream to show the many things that can be done with it. If you want the recipe for my chestnut cream, click here. This is also a dessert that I believe is unknown to Americans? At least I had never seen something like this before. It’s something I discovered in France and found it absolutely delicious. If you’re one of those people who like the frosting more than the cake, this is something you’ll love because this cake has a generous portion of crème mousseline!
The type of cake is called a “daquoise” and it’s made with meringue and crushed hazelnuts, if you have trouble locating that you can also replace it with crushed almonds. The result is a light, nutty, cookie type of base that sandwiches the silky crème mousseline. If you are unfamiliar with crème mousseline, it’s like the French version of butter cream but silky and custardy. The mousseline is made by taking a pastry cream, and beating in butter to make it stable and more firm.
For this recipe the crème mousseline should be made first and can also be made a day in advance. The daquoise cake comes together very fast and shortly after it cools from the oven, the succès is ready to assemble!
Crème Mousseline Ingredients:
1 ½ Cups milk
3 egg yolks (save the whites!)
4 Tablespoons Sugar
5 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Vanilla extract
1/3-1/2 cup chestnut cream (depending on your preference for a subtle or pronounced taste)
2/3 Cup Cold Butter
Daquoise Cake Ingredients:
3 Egg Whites
4 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoon Flour
¾ Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Crushed Hazelnuts
Directions for the Mousseline:
So to first point out a few tricky spots before getting started, a mousseline is simply a pastry cream that gets more body and firmness by beating in cold butter. The tricky part is that the pastry cream must cool off and be 75˚F in order to incorporate the butter. If you have a reading thermometer you can verify the temperature, if not don’t worry, it’s roughly around room temperature. The pastry cream should feel slightly warm to the touch. The problem is if the cream is too hot, the butter will melt into the cream and won’t amount to what we want. On the other hand, if the pastry cream is too cold the butter won’t incorporate and you’ll have little pieces of butter mixed into the cream.
Besides the temperature, also be aware of when you are cooking the pastry cream to thicken it, it will seem like nothing’s happening and suddenly it thickens very fast! Usually, when I see the cream just starting to thicken I pull the pot off the heat and continue whisking off heat. The temperature of the pot itself is hot enough to finish thickening without overcooking.
1. Measure all ingredients and prepare all necessary equipment (bowl, small pot, whisk).
2. Separate the egg yolks and cream whisk in 4 tbs sugar, after gently whisk in 5 tbs cornstarch.
3. Heat the milk over a low heat, flavor with a dash of vanilla.
4. Once the milk starts simmering, pour half of it into the egg mixture. Start whisking the eggs and then pour the entire egg mixture back into the pot with the milk.
5. While whisking constantly, begin cooking the cream until the eggs reach semi-coagulation, thickening the cream. Be sure to get in the corners of the pot so nothing over cooks. The consistency should resemble pudding.
6. Remove the cream into a separate bowl and whisk in the chestnut cream.
7. Cover with plastic wrap, making contact so a skin doesn’t form. Let the cream cool in the fridge and the chestnut cream will start infusing its flavor.
8. After at least 30min check the temperature of the cream. If it’s too hot leave it in the fridge longer, if too cold, let it sit out and come up to room temperature.
9. Cut the COLD butter into cubes and with an electric mixer begin progressively beat in the cubes of butter.
10. Once all the butter is well incorporated and there are no chunks or pieces of butter, taste to verify that you are happy with the strength of the chestnut flavor.
11. Reserve in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the cake.
Directions for the Daquoise Cake:
1. Measure all ingredients and prepare all equipment. (bowl, electric mixer, sifter, baking sheet lined with parchment paper, piping bag)
2. Preheat the oven to 320˚F
3. Take an 8” bowl or cake mold and draw two circles on the parchment paper, this will be the guide when piping the cake batter.
4. Sift together the flour and powdered sugar. Mix together with the hazelnuts and set aside.
5. In a large bowl add in the egg whites with a pinch of salt and start beating into stiff peaks.
6. When stiff peaks are achieved add in the sugar and briefly beat in. Note: over mixing the sugar in a meringue will create a melting affect.
7. Using a whisk, or spatula, begin folding in the dry ingredients. This should be done in two or three portions, again trying not to over mix and collapsing the meringue.
8. Put the batter into a piping bag with a large open tip attached. Add a small drop of batter under each corner of the parchment paper to hold it in place.
9. Begin piping the batter in a spiral formation, starting from the center and working outwards.
10. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Verify the cooking by gently pressing the cake, it should be dry but with a bit of sponginess, the edges should also be golden brown. If the cake is too dry it will be very brittle.
11. When done baking, immediately remove the cakes and let cool on a wire rack. Be careful while handling the cakes.
The Assemblage:
When you are ready to assemble the cake, get the mousseline and transfer it into a piping bag with a large tip attached. Get your platter ready by putting a small amount of cream in the center to hold the cake, preventing it from moving around while you’re working on it. If the mousseline is too hard to pipe, let it sit out for a little bit and warm up until it’s softer. Then, begin piping balls of cream all around the circumference and then filling in the center with a spiral, using the rest of the cream.
If that took you a little time and your cream is getting too soft, put the cake back in the fridge for a few minutes before placing the top on. I decorated the top with some melted chocolate and hazelnuts; you can do the same or something different. Afterwards, carefully place the top on the cake and gently press it onto the cream Keep the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve!
I hope you enjoy that recipe and maybe you discovered something new! This is relatively a simple cake to make, but people will believe you must be a real pastry chef! Thanksgiving and the holidays are here, this might be a good recipe to keep in mind if you want to impress your family and show off.
On a last note, this cake can also be adapted with other flavors if you don’t want to make the chestnut cream. This can be made with almond butter, Nutella, or I suppose even peanut butter would work, if you want to keep with the nutty flavors! There’s also nothing wrong with keeping a simple vanilla, or chocolate mousseline, just add in some melted chocolate after you thicken the pastry cream. Overall, the gâteau succès was a real success!
Want to learn more about French inspired recipes like this on and tips to elevate yourself? Check out my book, It’s About Me! Follow the link below for more details.
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