Giant meringue by Christophe Adam
Christophe Adam has conquered the world with l’Éclair Génie. an original pastry concept where he offers eclairs full of fantasy which, beyond their appearance, satisfy with their flavor.
The chef, who defines himself as a workaholic, has made a hole in his tight schedule to present fresh, simple desserts in so good #19, desserts “that remind me of when I was an apprentice”.
Creations like this giant meringue where he has placed special attention to flavor and textures.
” I realized a ‘giant meringue’ in the idea of a vacherin revisited, I was really inspired following a fantastic dinner at Christophe Hardiquest‘s restaurant in Brussels”
Giant meringue
homemade rum ice cream
- 210 g whole milk
- 45 g UHT cream, 35% fat
- 60 g confectioners’ sugar
- 10 g non-fat milk powder
- 15 g Agrimontana ice cream base 50
- 200 g homemade rum
Mix the powdered ingredients and add to the liquids, except alcohol. Blend. Allow to mature for 12 hours. Before churning, add the rum and mix.
meringue
- 280 g egg whites
- 220 g superfine sugar
Temper the egg whites with the help of a bain marie. Preheat the oven to 110ºC. Whip the egg whites while adding the sugar in 3 additions.
Prepare and grease 6-cm-wide hemisphere molds. Use a flat 6-mm tip. Pipe the meringue balls in the mold upside down. Bake at 110ºC for 30 minutes and at 90ºC for 2 hours. Unmold the hemispheres, cut half of them into 2/3 and stick to the other hemisphere using your fingers to mold. Then, turn off the oven and allow the meringue to dry completely for 2 to 3 hours. Reserve in a drying oven.
rum-soaked grapes
- 40 g white grapes
- q.s. homemade rum
Warm up the rum and soak the grapes in it until perfectly inflated.
raisin paste
- 150 g Zante currants
- water
Bring the water to a boil, allow the raisins to inflate for 1 hour and then drain off. Mix until a paste is obtained.
praliné croustillant
- 90 g butter
- 35 g confectioners’ sugar
- 1 g fine salt
- 35 g almond powder
- 85 g flour t55
- 5 g cocoa powder
- 15 g whole eggs
- 140 g hazelnut gianduja
- q.s. gold
Mix the tempered butter with the confectioners’ sugar, almond powder, flour and cocoa powder. Finish by gradually adding the eggs until a smooth dough is obtained. Laminate to a thickness of 5 mm and bake for 12 minutes. Reserve in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Allow the gianduja to melt.
Crush the croustillant and mix with the melted gianduja.
other
- 15 u fresh black grapes
- 15 u white grapes
- purple shiso
- green shiso
- 5 u kumquats
Montage
Recipe for 5 desserts
- 350 g homemade rum ice cream
- 250 g meringue
- 40 g rum-soaked grapes
- 150 g raisin paste
- 400 g praliné croustillant
- 15 u fresh black grapes
Make the ice cream mix and meringue the previous day. Churn the ice cream while adding the rum. Make the raisin paste, rum-soaked grapes and praliné croustillant.
For the assembly, fill the bottom of each meringue with 15 g of raisin paste and then the rum ice cream. Following this, add an additional 15 g of raisin paste and the rum-soaked grapes.
For the décor, peel and cut the grapes into quarters. Add the shiso sprouts, the croustillant, the rum-soaked grapes and some kumquat slices.
You will also find these three recipes in so good #19
