Laskonky

Laskonky are a type of Slovak and Czech cookie made out of two crispy meringues and a variety of buttercream fillings. Meringues are often baked into thin, oval forms and may contain ground walnuts or coconut. Caramel buttercream is traditionally used as a filling, however many modern versions include coffee or chocolate.

Many traditional Slovak and Czech pastry shops stock these crunchy sweet delicacies. They're typically served as a dessert with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Ingredients:

• Praline paste: 175g Walnuts Alesto; 125g Castello crystal sugar; 1 tsp sunflower oil Vita D'or
• Laskonky: 180 g protein; 320g Castello crystal sugar; 100g Castello icing sugar; 180 g minced Walnuts Alesto
• Cream: 250 ml Pilos milk; 40g Castello crystal sugar; 1 egg; 1 yolk; 15g Golden Cob; 15g Plain Castello Flour; 190g Pilos butter

Instructions:

• Praline paste: Bake the nuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper at 180 °C for about 8 minutes until golden brown. Let the sugar caramelize. Add the nuts, mix and pour the mixture back on a baking tray of paper. Once cool, blend half of the wrapped nuts into a grill and the remaining half to a smooth paste.

• Laskonky: Whisk the whites together with the crystal sugar in a water bath until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then, in a blender, still warm at the highest speeds, whisk them to solid snow. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar and ground walnuts. Using a lascon mould, apply the mixture to a baking tray lined with baking paper. We align with the spatula. Carefully lift the mold so that sharp edges remain on the lasagna. We wash the mold and repeat the process on other sheets. Bake the lasagna at 120 °C for about 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 80 °C and dry the lasagna for about 30 minutes. Laskonkas are baked when they go easy to peel off from the baking paper.

• Cream: We put the milk to cook with half the sugar. In a bowl with a hand whisk, mix the remaining sugar, egg, yolk, golden cob, and flour. Pour the egg mixture over the boiling milk and, stirring constantly, cook the thick pudding. Pour the cooked pudding into a bowl, cover with foil and leave to cool. Then stir the stiff custard cream until smooth. Whisk the butter into the mousse and gradually whisk the paste and pudding into it a little bit. Finally, stir in the grill. We transfer the cream to a pastry bag with a decorative tip and glue the prepared lasagna with it.