Chocolate Mocha Daquoise

Make the the Meringues: Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper and draw three 8'' circles on paper. Sift together the 2 cups of Sugar, Hazelnuts, and Almonds into a medium bowl, pushing lumps through sieve. Reserve. Place Egg Whites in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer with the whip. Whip, at medium speed to the soft peak stage, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the 1/2 cup of Sugar and whip at high speed to the stiff peak stage, about 2 minutes. Gently fold in 1/3 of Nut mixture at a time with a rubber spatula. Transfer Meringue to a piping bag with a 1/2” plain tip. Pipe Meringue between parchment circles and gently spread out evenly. Bake for 2 hours. Allow to cool.

Make the Ganache: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the Heavy Cream to a boil. and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, add milk and bittersweet

chocolates, and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth and set aside until thick enough to spread.

Make the Buttercream: In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine 1/3 cup water and 1-1/2 cups of the sugar and cook to the soft ball stage, 240°F. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer with the whip, beat the Egg Whites to the soft peak stage at high speed. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup and whip to the stiff peak stage. Reduce speed to medium and carefully pour syrup into Egg Whites. Continue beating until the mixture is cool, about 10 minutes. Add the Butter, bit by bit, whisking constantly until Buttercream is shiny and fluffy, about 8 minutes. (Mixture may curdle, but will eventually come together.) Whisk in the Coffee Extract.

Assembly: Spread about 1/3 of the Buttercream over each of 2 Meringues. Spread the Ganache over the remaining Meringue. Layer Meringues, placing the one with Ganache in the middle. Spread remaining Buttercream on sides of Cake, then cover Cake with Almonds and refrigerate at least 5 hours.