Apricots, mint ice cream and liquorice meringue
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 3 hours
Emanuele Scarello offsets the sweetness of sticky, sugary apricots with the intensity of fresh mint ice cream in his refined Italian dessert, which is fit for the finest of banquets or humblest of dinner parties. For bite, he peppers the plate with crispy mint-infused cornflakes and shards of liquorice meringue towered high for a dramatic finish that is sure to impress.
First published in 2016
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Mint ice cream
- 515g of milk
- 120g of cream, minimum 35% fat
- 100g of caster sugar
- 24g of dextrose
- 40g of milk powder
- 4g of stabiliser
- 60 fresh mint leaves
Crispy cornflakes
- 100g of sugar syrup
- 20g of mint leaves
- 50g of cornflakes
Liquorice meringue
- 100g of egg white
- 100g of caster sugar
- liquorice powder
- 1 pinch of salt
Apricot gel
- 500g of apricot, halved and de-stoned
- 50g of caster sugar
- 6g of pectin
- 3g of agar agar
- 20g of lemon juice
To serve
- 4 apricots, quartered and de-stoned
- icing sugar for dusting
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Thermometer
- Blender
- Electric mixer
- Ice cream maker
- Silicone baking mat
- Baking tray
- Water bath
- Bar sealer
- Vacuum bags
Method
1
Begin with the mint ice cream as this will need at least 12 hours to rest. Pour the milk and cream into a pan and heat gently to 45°C
- 515g of milk
- 120g of cream, minimum 35% fat
2
Stir in the sugar, dextrose, milk powder and stabiliser and bring to 85°C, then add the mint leaves. Transfer everything to a blender and blitz until smooth
- 100g of caster sugar
- 24g of dextrose
- 40g of milk powder
- 4g of stabiliser
- 60 fresh mint leaves
3
Pass the hot liquid through a sieve, then allow to cool to 4°C. Cover and leave for 12 hours in the fridge, then churn in an ice cream machine before serving
4
For the crispy cornflakes, add the mint leaves to a small pan with the sugar syrup and place over a low heat. Allow to come to 60°C, then keep at this temperature for 45 minutes to allow the mint to fully infuse the syrup
- 100g of sugar syrup
- 20g of mint leaves
5
Preheat the oven to 100°C/gas mark ¼
6
Meanwhile, for the liquorice meringue, place the egg whites in a bowl or stand mixer and whisk, gradually adding the sugar bit by bit until fully incorporated in a glossy meringue. Finally whisk in the salt
- 100g of egg white
- 100g of caster sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
7
Spread a 2mm thick layer of meringue on a silicone baking mat and sprinkle with liquorice powder
- liquorice powder
8
Line a tray with baking paper. Once the mint syrup has infused, coat the cornflakes in the syrup and spread out in an even layer on the tray. Place both trays with the cornflakes and meringue in the cool oven to dry out for 2 hours, then reserve both until ready to serve
- 50g of cornflakes
9
Preheat a water bath to 63°C
10
Sprinkle the sugar over the apricot halves to coat then place in a vacuum bag in a single layer. Seal and cook in the water bath for 1 hour
- 500g of apricot, halved and destoned
- 50g of caster sugar
11
After this time, remove the apricots from the bag and weigh out 100g. Place in a pan over a medium heat with any juices from the bag and bring to the boil. Stir in the pectin, agar agar and lemon juice
- 6g of pectin
- 3g of agar agar
- 20g of lemon juice
12
Boil for a few minutes then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool, add the remaining 400g of cooked apricots and stir to combine. Transfer to the the fridge to chill until set
13
When nearly ready to serve, remove the chilled apricot mixture from the fridge and place in a blender. Blitz to form a smooth gel, then transfer to a piping bag
14
Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Coat the fresh apricot quarters in a layer of icing sugar and add to the hot pan, allowing the sugar coating to caramelise and char slightly
- icing sugar for dusting
15
To serve, pipe the apricot gel on to serving plates and sprinkle over the cornflakes. Add the caramelised apricot pieces and a scoop of the mint ice cream
16
Break the sheet of liquorice meringue into shards and arrange over the top, hiding the ice cream beneath. Serve immediately
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