This dessert is sweet and tart, with a hint of perfume. Smooth, with just a bit of crunch. And it's pink. This would be perfect for a bridal shower or a baby shower or a solo lunch on a hot summer day, which is when I've been enjoying mine.
Vacherin is a lovely warm-weather dessert composed of a baked meringue, ice cream, fruit, whipped cream. My version is a lightly anise flavored meringue topped with rhubarb sorbet and orange blossom ice cream. So delicious. I thought about the flavors for a few days, not sure if they would work together, but it was lovely. Simple, but sophisticated. It took a little effort to create each part and put them together, but they've been making me happy all week. Certainly worth the time.
And FYI, the orange blossom ice cream blended with milk and fresh strawberries makes a killer strawberry milkshake.
Note: the beautiful rhubarb for this sorbet came from Acorn Creek Farm. You can find them at the Ottawa's Farmers Market on Thursdays and Sundays.
Rhubarb Vacherins with Anise and Orange Blossom Water
This recipe can be made in single servings or as one large dessert. I used 3 inch ring molds for mine.
Anise Meringue
60 grams egg whites, room temperature
60 grams (about 5 T.) granulated sugar
60 grams confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp. finely ground anise seed
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Trace your ring molds (unless you have a good eye), then turn parchment paper over so the ink won't bleed.
Heat oven to 150 F. In the bowl of a stand mixer w/ whisk attachment, begin whipping the egg whites on low speed until frothy. Turn the speed to medium-high, adding granulated sugar a little at a time until egg whites are stiff and glossy. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and sift confectioner's sugar and anise seed over the egg whites and fold them in. Scoop meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip (I used #803). Using the circles you traced as your guide, pipe the meringue in concentric circles from the outside in. Bake the meringues for about an hour. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Rhubarb Sorbet
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 lb. rhubarb cut into small pieces
2 T. corn syrup
Combine sugar, water, and lime juice in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add rhubarb and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until rhubarb is soft (10-15 minutes). Puree until smooth. Add corn syrup. Cool in refrigerator, then freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.
Orange Blossom Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
6 egg yolks
1 tsp. orange blossom water
Put a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl. Set this aside. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks. Warm cream, milk, salt and sugar over medium heat. Slowly pour warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Pour the custard through the fine-mesh sieve into the bowl. Stir in orange blossom water. Cool the mixture over an ice bath, then chill in the refrigerator. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
To Assemble
Before assembling, make sure that the sorbet and ice cream are relatively soft to aid scooping and molding. Place a meringue disk into the bottom of each ring mold. Add a 2 oz. scoop of sorbet, smoothing it into the mold. Freeze for two hours. Add a 2 oz scoop of ice cream, smoothing across the top. Freeze for two hours. To unmold the vacherins, rub the outside of the mold briskly. The vacherin will slide out. Top with whipped cream, if you like.
Note: You can make individual vacherins without the ring mold. Just drop mounds of meringue on a baking sheet and make a well in each with the back of a spoon. Top with a scoop each of the sorbet and ice cream.
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