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For the holidays, the traditional festive pav is being swapped for a similarly delightful dessert featuring meringue. Golden rounds of pistachio-infused meringue are layered with a lush pistachio cream and tart cherry sauce. As it rests, the meringue layers give slightly from the moisture, resulting in a pleasantly chewy texture. It's a superb option for Christmas dining that omits the usual suspects of chocolate and booze.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Thanks to the trend of a recent social media sensation, sweet pistachio paste is easy to find in many grocery stores. It is pre-sweetened and offers a lovely, soft green hue. One might use unsweetened nut butter as a substitute, though the hue might be muddier and some added sweetness is needed to adjust the sweetness.

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 warming the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Line three baking trays with parchment paper. Trace around an 18cm plate, outline a circle on the parchment. Flip the paper over so the drawn lines won't transfer the meringue.

In a food processor the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until mostly fine – a few chunkier pieces of pistachio are desirable.

Using a stand mixer and mix initially until light and bubbly. Increase the speed and mix until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the caster sugar until the meringue is thick, stiff, and glossy.

Gently fold the pistachio mixture into the meringue, taking care not to over-mix. Transfer the mixture into a bag fitted with a large tip and trim about 2.5cm from the tip.

Starting from the outer edge of each outline, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Even it out carefully. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the meringues are pale gold and are set to the touch. They should peel away cleanly when cool. Take out and let cool.

While the meringues bake, make the compote. Add the frozen cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a pan and heat gently until the cherries start to thaw and liquid forms. Increase the heat to boil and cook for about five minutes until the cherries are tender. Transfer the fruit to a bowl, leaving the juices in the pan. Simmer the syrup until it has thickened slightly, then pour it over the cherries. Allow to reach room temperature.

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

When building the cake, trim the sides of each meringue disc with a small serrated knife, for a clean edge. Place one disc on a platter and cover with a some of the whipped cream. Create a slight well (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the middle and place some of the cherries (to stop the juices from spilling). Place the second layer and layer again, reserving a small handful for the finish.

Place the final disc and frost the entire cake with the rest of the pistachio cream, spreading it with a knife. Press the chopped pistachios onto the edges.

Transfer any leftover cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and add decorative dollops on top. Add the the remaining fruit and chill until ready to serve.