For the meringues:
I learned this nougat while working on the Bouchon Bakery cookbook, wherein executive pastry chef Sebastien Rouxel makes a version for the bakery. I've simplified his recipe for the home kitchen (corn syrup instead of glucose and no cocoa butter, which he uses to get a cleaner cut). But it all basically comes down to the temperature you cook the sugar to; because it's added hot to the egg whites, it ultimately cooks the whites and becomes a foamy white candy into which nuts and fruit are stirred. I love the combination of pistachio, almond, cashew, and cherry, but virtually any toasted nuts or dried fruits can be used.
There is not a woman of any age whose heart will not beat a little more quickly when this gorgeous sweet is placed on the table.
Blurring the lines between ice cream and mousse, simplicity and finesse, nostalgia and novelty, this is the kind of dessert that’s hard to categorize but easy to love.
Egg whites are the key element in this recipe.