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This year, my usual Christmas dessert is making way for a similarly delightful sweet creation. Golden rounds of pistachio-infused meringue are stacked with smooth nut cream and juicy cherry mixture. As it rests, the meringue layers give slightly under the cream, resulting in a soft and tender texture. This makes a fantastic choice for Christmas dining without the usual suspects of chocolate and booze.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Inspired by the craze of a recent social media sensation, pistachio creme is simple to source in many grocery stores. The spread is sugar-added and offers a beautiful pale green color. One might use pistachio butter if preferred, but the color may be duller 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

Directions

First, heating your oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Cover three trays with greaseproof paper. Trace around an 18cm plate, mark a circle on each piece of paper. Invert the paper so the ink aren't touching the meringue.

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

Place the egg whites and mix initially until foamy. Increase the speed and continue to whisk until the whites hold a soft peak. While still beating, slowly pour in the caster sugar until the meringue is thick, stiff, and glossy.

Carefully incorporate the ground nut mix into the meringue, ensuring not to deflate it. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag and trim about a generous opening from the tip.

Beginning at the perimeter of each outline, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Even it out gently. Place in the oven until the meringues are pale gold and are set to the touch. They should come off the paper when cool. Allow to cool fully on the trays.

While the meringues bake, prepare the cherry sauce. Place all compote ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until the cherries begin to release juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-6 minutes until the cherries are softened. Spoon the cherries to a bowl, leaving the juices in the pan. Boil the juices until it has halved in volume, then mix it back with the cherries. Leave to cool.

For the pistachio cream, combine the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until just thickened.

When building the cake, neaten the edges of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, following the original circle. Place one disc on a cake stand and cover with a generous amount of the whipped cream. Make a shallow dip (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the center and place some of the cherries (to stop the syrup from leaking). Place the second layer and layer again, reserving a small handful for the top decoration.

Add the last meringue and frost the entire cake with the leftover filling, spreading it with a palette knife or bench scraper. Adhere the extra nuts onto the vertical surface.

Put the remaining filling into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and create swirls on top. Garnish with the saved cherries and chill until ready to serve.