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This year, a classic pavlova is getting replaced for a wonderfully different sweet creation. Golden rounds of pistachio-infused meringue are stacked with smooth nut cream and tart cherry sauce. Upon assembly, the meringue layers give slightly under the cream, resulting in a delightfully cake-like consistency. It's a superb option for a holiday sweet that omits chocolate, alcohol, or dried fruit.

Festive Nut & Fruit Meringue Cake

Thanks to the trend of a well-known confection, ready-made pistachio spread is easy to find in local shops. The spread is sugar-added and provides a beautiful pale green color. You could opt for unsweetened nut butter as a substitute, but the tone can be less vibrant and some added sweetness is needed 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

Directions

First, preheating the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Cover three trays with baking paper. Take an 18cm cake ring, mark a circle on the parchment. Invert the paper so the drawn lines aren't touching the meringue.

Using a processor the 150g pistachios, icing sugar, cornflour, and salt until mostly fine – some texture of pistachio are just fine.

Using a stand mixer and beat at medium speed until light and bubbly. Whisk more vigorously and mix until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, incorporate little by little the caster sugar until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks.

Carefully incorporate the ground nut mix into the meringue, ensuring not to over-mix. Place the batter into a large piping bag and snip off about an inch from the tip.

Beginning at the perimeter of each drawn circle, pipe a meringue disc onto each tray. Level the top using a palette knife. Place in the oven until the meringues are gently colored and sound hollow when tapped. They should come off the paper when cool. Remove and cool completely.

While the meringues bake, prepare the cherry sauce. Add the frozen cherries, lemon juice, and sugar in a pan and cook on a medium-low flame until the cherries soften. Bring to a boil and cook for about five minutes until the cherries are softened. Transfer the fruit to a bowl, leaving the juices in the pan. Boil the juices until it has halved in volume, then combine it with the cherries. Leave to cool.

For the pistachio cream, beat the whipping cream and pistachio creme in a bowl until it holds soft peaks.

To assemble, even out the discs of each meringue disc with a gentle sawing motion, following the original circle. Position the bottom meringue on a serving plate and spread on a layer of the whipped cream. Make a shallow dip (about 10cm-12cm wide) in the middle and spoon in some of the cherries (this contains the juices from spilling). Place the second layer and layer again, saving a few cherries for the finish.

Set the top layer and mask the cake with the leftover filling, using a palette knife with a offset spatula. Adhere the extra nuts onto the vertical surface.

Transfer any leftover cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe rosettes on top. Garnish with the reserved cherries and refrigerate before serving.