Hazelnut and Coffee Dacquoise with Chocolate Glaze for Melbourne Cake Club - Go Nuts!

On Thursday night, I attended another meeting of the Melbourne Cake Club.  Our intrepid host, Dalya, expertly found us another inner city venue, Aer Rooftop Bar at European Bier Cafe in Exhibition Street, Melbourne.  Our party was six strong (7 if you count Abi's gorgeous baby Joe), with Dalya's sister in law, Laura, joining us again. It was a slightly cool evening at the open air rooftop bar, so the staff fired up the heater next to our table to keep us warm.  

Without further ado, I will describe the cakes.

At the top of this post is Abi's fabulous Pistachio Baklava Cake, made from this recipe. It was wonderfully light and delightfully honey flavoured.  Here's a peek inside:

I made a hazelnut and coffee dacquoise with chocolate glaze from this recipe:

The nuts I used were almond meal and hazelnut meal.  My glaze isn't as perfect as the one in the photo, and it got knocked a little in transport, but it still tasted great, if quite rich.  Here is a peek inside:  

Dalya made a hazelnut chocolate mousse cake with a lovely hazelnut-rich base:

Yep, that's ganache on top!

Sue made a Persian love cake from her self-published book:

 Her cake was rich with cashew nuts, and was beautifully moist with a soft hint of rosewater.

Alex made a fig and nut roll, and brought in cheese and crackers to accompany it.  However, because the venue sold crackers and cheese, we weren't allowed to have it:

Here is my selection of cut cake:

To accompany my cake, I ordered the Champs Elysees Cocktail ($19):

 It comprises Chambord, Grand Marnier, strawberries, basil and cranberry juice.  I can assure you it, was delicious!

It was another fun night at Melbourne Cake Club.  If you want to come along, please join us through Meetup.com.