Chocolate Mousse And Raspberry Cream Dacquoise

Directions

1. Line three buttered baking sheets with parchment or possibly foil and trace an 11" circle on each sheet of parchment. Meringues: In a food processor grind fine the hazelnuts with 1/2 c. of the sugar, transfer the mix to a bowl, and stir in 1/2 c. of the remaining sugar and the salt, stirring and fluffing the mix till it is combined well. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a healthy pinch of salt till they hold soft peaks, add in the remain- ing one c. sugar gradually, beating, and beat the egg whites till they hold stiff glossy peaks. Mix in the hazelnut mix gently but thor- oughly and transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" plain tip. Starting in the middle of each parchment circle pipe the mix in a tight spiral to fill the circles and bake the meringues on three proportionately spaced racks or possibly in batches in a preheated 250 F. oven, switching the meringues from one rack to another every 20 min, for one hour or possibly till they are hard when touched. Remove the parchment from the baking sheets, let the meringues cold on it, and peel off the parchment carefully. (The meri ngues may be made one day in advance and kept wrapped well in plastic wrap at room temperature. ) Trim the meringues to auniform size if necessary with a serrated knife and reserve the best-looking meringue for the top layer. Spread the underside of one of the remaining meringues with the melted chocolate (this will be the middle layer), reserve it, chocolate side up, and put the remaining meringue (this will be the bottom layer) on a large flat cake platter. See ChocolateMousse & Raspberry Cream Dacquoise 2 for rest of directions (too large for one