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For the holidays, the traditional festive pav is making way for a equally impressive sweet creation. Baked layers of nutty meringue are layered with creamy pistachio filling and juicy cherry mixture. While it sits, the discs become slightly beneath the filling, achieving a delightfully cake-like feel. This makes a fantastic choice for a holiday sweet without traditional rich ingredients.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Thanks to the trend of a well-known confection, ready-made pistachio spread is simple to source in many grocery stores. This product is pre-sweetened and provides a lovely, soft green hue. One might use pistachio butter as a substitute, but the hue might be muddier and you'll likely need 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

First, preheating the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Prepare three baking sheets with parchment paper. Take an 18cm cake ring, mark a circle on every sheet. Invert the paper so the drawn lines don't come into contact the meringue.

Pulse together the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until finely processed – some texture of pistachio are desirable.

Using a stand mixer and beat at medium speed until foamy. Turn up to medium-high and beat until the whites hold a soft peak. With the mixer running, gradually add the caster sugar until the meringue is thick, stiff, and glossy.

Carefully incorporate the pistachio mixture into the meringue, taking care not to knock out the air. Place the batter into a large piping bag and snip off about a generous opening from the tip.

Starting from the outer edge of each drawn circle, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Level the top carefully. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes until the meringues are lightly browned and feel firm. They should peel away cleanly when cool. Remove and cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine the compote ingredients. Place all compote ingredients 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 five or six minutes until the cherries are tender. Transfer the fruit to a bowl, leaving the juices in the pan. Simmer the syrup until it has halved in volume, then pour it over the cherries. Allow to reach room temperature.

To make the filling, whip together the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until it holds soft peaks.

For construction, even out the discs of each meringue disc with a bread knife, for a clean edge. Set the first layer on a platter and top with a some of the whipped cream. Make a shallow dip (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the top and add some of the cherries (this contains the syrup from leaking). Top with the next meringue layer and repeat the process, setting aside a few cherries for the top decoration.

Place the final disc and mask the cake with the leftover filling, using a palette knife with a offset spatula. Adhere the extra nuts onto the sides.

Put the remaining filling into a pastry bag with a star tip and create swirls on top. Garnish with the remaining fruit and chill until ready to serve.