Tuesday, June 23, 2009

TWD: Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise


This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie selection was Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise. I usually thank the week’s host at the end, but I want to give my express my gratitude to Andrea of Andrea in the Kitchen right away. I never would have given this recipe a second glance if I wasn’t in a baking group since: 1) on the chocolate spectrum, white chocolate is on the opposite end of my typical preference; 2) my boyfriend claims to not like coconut; and 3) the recipe is long and sounds like a lot of work. But now that I’ve made it, I know that white chocolate ganache is very delicious and Mr. Penpen seems officially convinced he likes coconut (at least in desserts). As for the recipe, it did take quite a bit of time, but unlike some other recipes that have sneakily taken over my weekends, I was cognizant that this one would be time-consuming and entered into this endeavor with a patient attitude. And really, none of the steps were that complicated.



I initially thought I would make a mini version, since I wasn’t sure we’d like it, but since I was going to be turning my oven on for three hours (since the temperature was so low, I even left the house and did errands while the dacquoise was baking) and hacking up a pineapple, I decided I may as well make the entire dessert and serve it to my boyfriend’s family for Father’s Day. I baked the dacquoise early Saturday morning, roasted the pineapple and started the ganache on Saturday evening, and finished the ganache and assembled the dessert on Sunday morning so it would be ready for lunch that afternoon. This recipe actually did not contain any butter, but it did contain three cups of heavy cream, which seemed a bit excessive for one dessert. I am a diligent reader of the problems and questions and the always-helpful Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs mentioned she had used Greek yogurt for some of hers. I thought that was a fantastic idea, so one of the layers that was meant to be white chocolate ganache was 2% Greek yogurt sweetened with honey. For the two-thirds of the ganache I did make, I used one cup of cream and one cup half-and-half. I used Guittard white chocolate for the ganache, which I wholeheartedly recommend. It melted beautifully, was quite tasty, and is more budget-friendly than Valrhona Ivoire, which was the other chocolate Dorie suggested. There happened to be a great review of it on Baking Bites the same day I bought it!



And, one of the best parts about this recipe is that it’s a real showstopper; I was quite pleased with myself for making such an exquisite dessert. I didn’t want anyone to see it before dessert, but I was happy Mr. Penpen’s mother did; when she saw it in the refrigerator, she told me that she likes to plan her meal portions accordingly when she knows there’s a good dessert – smart woman! Everyone I served the dacquoise to enjoyed it, making it a veritable success. This recipe rates a 9 for Deliciousness and a 4.5 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 2. You can find the recipe on Andrea’s site and see what the other bakers thought via the TWD blogroll.

27 comments:

chocolatechic said...

Picture perfect.

Megan said...

Showstopper indeed - it looks perfect.

Although I skipped this one, since I'd be the only one eating it, seeing how nice and tasty it looks makes me wish I could at least try a bite!

Anonymous said...

Your dacquoise looks great! I'm glad you really liked it.

Bungalow Barbara said...

That is lovely!

This was not as much of a hit at our house but I had fun making it anyway.

Katie said...

Your dacquoise looks awesome! I'm living vicariously through those who were able to complete this recipe this week.

I linked my readers to your blog this week to show them what I was supposed to be doing! :) Great job!

Flourchild said...

Wow perfect looking Dacquoise! You did a nice job!!

Jennifer said...

It's so pretty. This was one of my favorite twd recipes. I really, really liked it. My coconut-hater did the same thing, and decided she would grudgingly eat a piece. Maybe this recipe will make my daughter a coconut convert!

Creative Classroom Core said...

I love the pineapple on the top. Such a pretty presentation :)

Soy*Baby said...

Wow. Looks like perfection. I'm sure you impressed everyone.

Hindy said...

Yay for someone who plans their meal intake according to how much dessert they're going to want. She's a keeper!
Beautiful dacquoise!

Heather said...

Great job! I'm so pleased you made the full version.

Kayte said...

Your dessert looks really really good. It was very sweet, but we loved it and my small quarter size fed 6 people with generous portions. I will make this again. I, too, loved the process of the preparation, and it was so amazing when it was all getting assembled, really fun.

Jennifer said...

Your dacquoise is STUNNNING!

Beryl said...

Glad it was such a success. It looks fantastic!

Anonymous said...

It looks great and sounds like it was a huge success! I skipped this one but I would like to try it.

vibi said...

Loooove those pictures, they look so sumerlike!

I'm glad you enjoyed... (I'm imagining you had it on a bbq night... under the stars!)

Anonymous said...

Your dacquoise looks terrific! It looks pretty tall - I hope mine gets some height to it.

JoAnn Freda said...

Impressive!

sporkorfoon said...

That looks amazing!!!!! I need to find Guittard white chocolate! I made some variations, but I need to try it with the ganache, because it sounds so good!

spike. said...

that looks amazing! beautiful work

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

Substituting a layer of Greek yogurt for the white chocolate ganache is a great idea for cutting back on the level of sweetness. It looks beautiful and I bet it tasted great too.

Leslie said...

Great idea to sub Greek yogurt for some of the ganache! I love how it looks with the sides not frosted so that you can see the meringues. This was definitely a show stopper, and I too was glad I silenced my chocolate snobbishness and made it,

Basically, Baby Boots said...

This looks so good. Very impressive and from what it sounds like, worth all of the effort. Great job!

Unknown said...

Your dacquoise is picture perfect! This one was a big hit for me too and I probably would never have made it if not for TWD. I wish I'd made the entire recipe so I could have enjoyed more of it :)

TeaLady said...

That looks amazing.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Your patient attitude really paid off with this one, Margot - it's stunning! I'm so glad everyone loved it; your ideas for lightening it up make total sense and thanks for the white chocolate comparison. Great job!!

Mermaid Sews said...

Super impressive.