Daim Bars

What could be more satisfying than candy? A dessert made from that candy that's what! One of the things I really liked about living in Singapore was that IKEA was just a bus away. I didn't go there just to buy things but I would go there to eat...and have a Daim cake for dessert. I first came across this dessert in IKEA Beijing and totally fell for it, and the rest is history. And then I came back home to the Philippines...no IKEA, no Daim candies...no cake! Then one of my friends gave me a bag of Daim candies...and I had the brilliant idea to recreate one of my favorite desserts. But then I totally forgot about it until this week. So here is my version...Daim Bars!

I googled a lot of recipes for Daim cake, there were some but I wasn't satisfied with most of them so I made my own. Pastry cream sandwiched between two layers of almond meringue and topped with chocolate ganache and chopped daim candies...yum!
DAIM BARS
ALMOND MERINGUE LAYER
3 eggwhites
1/3 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
Using the whip attachment of your mixer, beat eggwhites until frothy, carefully pour sugar. Whip until stiff peak. Fold in chopped almonds and spread on a parchment paper-lined jelly roll tray. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees farenheit oven for 20 minutes.

Invert the cake onto another tray with parchment paper and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Set aside.
PASTRY CREAM
1 cup Fresh Milk
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon All-purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoons Butter

Scald fresh milk. In a clean bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, flour and cornstarch making sure it is smooth and there are no lumps. Carefully pour scalded milk while whisking it so that the eggs don't get scrambled. Pour back mixture into pot and cook over medium heat, while continuously stirring mixture. Pastry cream is cooked when it is the consistency of custard, take out of heat and mix in butter.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
1/4 cup Cream
100 grams Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
8 pieces DAIM chocolate candies, chopped

Put bittersweet chocolate and cream in a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir mixture until smooth.

ASSEMBLY: Slice the meringue layer in half. Spread the pastry cream on one layer and cover with the other half. Refrigerate until firm. Spread the chocolate ganache on top and garnish with the chopped Daim candies. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

I know that I wrote refrigerate until read to eat...but I cheated and tasted or rather ate one piece just to test if it tasted like the Daim cake from IKEA. I dare say it tasted quite close to the real deal!