Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Cream Dacquoise

Line three buttered baking sheets with parchment or foil and trace an 11" circle on each sheet of parchment. Meringues: In a food processor grind fine the hazelnuts with 1/2 cup of the sugar, transfer the mixture to a bowl, and stir in 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar and the salt, stirring and fluffing the mixture until it is combined well. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks, add the remain- ing one cup sugar gradually, beating, and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff glossy peaks. Fold in the hazelnut mixture 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 mixture in a tight spiral to fill the circles and bake the meringues on three evenly spaced racks or in batches in a preheated 250 F. oven, switching the meringues from one rack to another every 20 minutes, for one hour or until they are firm when touched. Remove the parchment from the baking sheets, let the meringues cool 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 recipe) Recipe By : Gourmet Magazine January, 1991