These indulgent little biscuits are pure pleasure—crisp on the outside, soft within, and sandwiched together with a silky chocolate ganache that makes them irresistible. They’re perfect with an afternoon coffee, but equally lovely with a glass of something festive and a little sparkle on the side if making during the festive season. Though traditionally made with almonds in Greece and known as Ergolavoi, they adapt beautifully to other nuts; here, cashews add a buttery sweetness that pairs wonderfully with the dark chocolate filling.
They’re simple to make, elegant to serve and delightfully moreish. Prepare them slightly smaller and they become the perfect petit four for the holiday season—or, quite honestly, any time of year when you want a touch of decadence in miniature form.
Ingredients (makes approx. 40 single biscuits)
For the biscuits
- 175g cashew nuts
- 150g caster sugar
- 2 egg whites
- a pinch of salt
For the ganache
- 125g chocolate (70% cocoa solids) chopped
- 125g double cream
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Greek thyme honey
Method
Preheat the oven at 170C.
In a small blender, blitz the cashew nuts together with the sugar till they resemble fine crumbs and transfer to a medium size bowl.
In a bowl beat the egg whites with the salt to a firm meringue. Fold the meringue into the nuts in three stages so that all the air is not knocked out of the mix, transfer to a piping bag and pipe small amounts of around 2cm diameter onto a lined baking tray with silicone pad or baking parchment. Bake for 15 minutes and leave to cool.
For the ganache, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a bain marie on a low heat and add the cream. Whisk to incorporate, add the olive oil and honey and mix well. Transfer to a piping bag and leave to cool a little. Pipe chocolate on half the biscuits and top with the other half. You should have around 20 biscuits in total.
Made a little smaller, they make excellent petit four.