Big Sur Bakery Cookbook - Michelle Wojtowicz [79]
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INGREDIENTS
FOR THE MERINGUES:
4 egg whites
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup powdered sugar
FOR THE EGGNOG ICE CREAM:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
¼ cup honey
¾ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
12 egg yolks
¼ to ½ cup dark rum
Serves 8
Adjust two oven racks to the middle positions, and preheat the oven to 250ºF.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and set them aside.
Start by making the meringues: In an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites at medium speed until frothy. With the machine running, slowly add the granulated sugar in small batches. Continue whisking until the meringue is thick and shiny. Sift the powdered sugar over the whites, and fold it in with a rubber spatula.
Spoon 8 little mounds of meringue onto one of the prepared cookie sheets, keeping them about an inch apart. On the second cookie sheet, divide the remaining meringue into 8 large dollops. Make a deep well in each of the large meringues with the back of a spoon. Put both cookie sheets in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, and remove the small meringues from the oven. Continue to bake the large meringues for 30 minutes more (1 hour total), or until they pull away easily from the parchment paper and sound hollow when tapped. Turn the oven off and leave the large meringues in the oven for another 30 minutes, until they dry completely. The meringues should be white. Set the meringues aside in a plastic or Tupperware container.
Next, make the ice cream: Combine the cream, milk, nutmeg, honey, and half the sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a paring knife, scrape out the pulp with the back of the knife, and add the pulp and the pod to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove it from the heat, and let the mixture steep for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a large bowl until smooth.
FOR THE CHESTNUT PURÉE:
One 8-ounce jar chestnut purée
¼ cup dark rum, or more to taste
¼ cup powdered sugar
FOR SERVING:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 cup chocolate sauce (double the recipe on Part 3)
Dark chocolate shavings
Bring the cream mixture back to a boil and temper the hot liquid into the yolks by adding it a ladle at a time while whisking vigorously. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard the vanilla bean. Return the strained liquid to the saucepan and cook over very low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Add the rum to taste, and refrigerate until it’s cold. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
To make the chestnut purée, combine the jarred chestnut purée, rum, and powdered sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix until well combined. Add 1 or 2 more tablespoons rum if desired.
When you’re ready to serve the Mont Blancs, whip the cream with the crème fraîche in a bowl until it forms soft peaks.
To assemble the desserts, pour a bit of the chocolate sauce in individual bowls, put the large meringues in, and place 2 scoops of eggnog ice cream on each one. Top the ice cream with a small meringue. Spoon a dollop of chestnut purée on each small meringue, top with a spoonful of whipped cream, and garnish with the chocolate shavings.
Photographs by Sara Remington
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Dresden Stollen
Michelle’s dad always refers to her as the Grinch because she never puts up a Christmas tree and because, ever since she started working in the restaurant business, she hasn’t been able to join her family for their traditional Italian Christmas celebration on the East Coast. So Michelle developed her own traditions