Apricots à la Sultane

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •7-inch (18 cm) deep savarin mould or round cake tin
• •Two flat baking sheets and parchment paper
• •Small heavy saucepans
• •Blender and fine-mesh sieve
• •Piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch (6 mm) plain tip
• •Small offset spatula
• •7-inch (18 cm) cake board or ovenproof flat serving base

Instructions

1. 1

   Bake the dry base

   Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Rub the flour, cold butter, sugar, and salt together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and press the dough together, using only enough ice water to make it hold. Flatten, cover, and chill for 20 minutes. Roll it ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick, cut an exact 7-inch (18 cm) disc, and prick it all over. Bake it between two sheets of parchment with a second baking sheet resting lightly on top for 15 to 18 minutes, until dry and evenly golden. Remove the upper sheet for the final 3 minutes if it needs more colour, then cool completely.

2. 2

   Poach the apricots

   Bring the water, poaching sugar, half the vanilla seeds, and half the pod to a gentle simmer. Lower in the apricot halves and poach without boiling until a knife enters with slight resistance, usually 2 to 5 minutes according to ripeness. Lift them into a shallow dish and spoon over enough syrup to cover while they cool. If they begin collapsing, remove them immediately and cool them in a single layer. Ça se rattrape: the firmest halves go on top, and softer ones can be tucked near the centre of the arrangement. Drain thoroughly before assembly.

3. 3

   Make almond milk

   Soak the blanched almonds in the hot water for 30 minutes, then blend the almonds and soaking water until very fine and milky. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing firmly on the almond pulp. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this almond milk, then combine the remainder with the syrup sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer gently until reduced to about 1¼ cups (300 ml) and lightly coating a spoon. Set aside without adding the finishing butter yet.

4. 4

   Cook the rice firm

   Combine the rice, whole milk, remaining vanilla seeds and pod, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring it slowly to a bare simmer, then cook gently for 18 minutes, stirring frequently so the milk cannot catch. Add the rice sugar and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes. The grains should be tender, but the mixture must be stiff enough that a spoon drawn through it leaves a trench that stays open. If the track floods closed, keep cooking over low heat. This concentration is the dish, not brigade scaffolding. Remove the vanilla pod, spread the rice on a shallow tray, and cool completely.

   If cooled rice still spreads under its own weight, return it to the saucepan and cook gently for a few more minutes, stirring constantly, then cool it again before adding the frangipane.
5. 5

   Cook the frangipane

   Warm the frangipane milk in a small saucepan. Whisk the egg yolk with the sugar and flour until smooth, then pour in the warm milk gradually while whisking. Return everything to the saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until the cream boils and becomes thick, then cook for 1 minute more to remove the raw flour taste. Off the heat, stir in the ground almonds and butter. This crème frangipane, almond pastry cream, should hold a firm ridge from the spoon. If small lumps form, whisk hard while it is still hot or press it through a sieve. Cool completely.

6. 6

   Set the filling

   Fold the cooled frangipane into the cooled vanilla rice, then add the splintered portion of the pistachios. Work gently enough to keep the rice grains distinct. Test a spoonful on a cold plate: it must sit in a mound without spreading. If it softens from mixing, chill it for 20 minutes before assembly. Do not loosen it for elegance. The stiff dome carries the apricots, and that structure is the one true thing this dessert asks of you.

7. 7

   Join the crown

   Place the dry-pastry disc on an ovenproof serving base or flat baking sheet. Warm the apricot glaze prepared according to The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344) only until spreadable, keeping its small-thread concentration intact. Brush a thin, complete layer over the pastry disc, then set the baked Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) border squarely on top and press very gently. The glaze is the edible cement. If the border sits unevenly, lift it at once, level the glaze with a warm knife, and reset it before the glaze firms.

8. 8

   Meringue and brown

   Keep the oven at 350°F (175°C). Spread a thin first coat of Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) over the outside, top, and inner wall of the Génoise border, leaving the central cavity open. Pipe the remaining meringue in close, even beads or flutes using a small plain tip. Brown it in the moderate oven for 6 to 9 minutes, just until the piping turns pale hazelnut at its ridges. Rotate the cake if one side colours first. If the narrow tips darken too quickly, shield those points loosely with small pieces of foil. Cool for 20 minutes before filling.

   Use the oven the source calls for, not a torch or fierce broiler. Moderate surrounding heat colours the meringue while leaving the Génoise tender.
9. 9

   Crown and serve

   Spoon the pistachio rice into the centre and shape it into a smooth, generous dome rising above the border. Arrange the drained apricot halves over it, rounded sides up, then scatter over the chopped pistachios. Rewarm the almond-milk syrup gently without boiling, remove it from the heat, and whisk in the cold hazelnut-sized piece of butter until the syrup gleams. If the butter separates, whisk in a teaspoon of the reserved cold almond milk. Serve the syrup apart in a small jug so each guest can pour their own. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose apricots that smell ripe but still resist a gentle thumb. Very soft fruit dissolves in the poaching syrup; hard fruit stays sour at the stone. When fresh apricots are poor, use good canned halves in syrup, drain them well, and skip the poaching. The result is softer and sweeter, but it keeps the dish's intent honestly.
• •Short-grain rice is essential. Its starch binds the filling while the grains remain visible, whereas long-grain rice falls apart and risotto rice can turn pasty under prolonged stirring.
• •No savarin mould is required. Bake the Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) in a deep 7-inch (18 cm) round tin, cool it fully, then cut a neat 3½-inch (9 cm) opening from the centre. That is an equipment change, not a change to the dessert's structure.
• •Prepare the Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) immediately before coating. A finished meringue waiting in the bowl loses volume and begins weeping, while a freshly made one pipes cleanly and holds its ridges.
• •Serve within 3 hours of assembly. The syrup and fruit gradually soften the rice and meringue, so this is not a cake to leave dressed overnight. A demi-sec Champagne suits the apricot and almond without weighing down the finish.

Advance Preparation

• •The Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) border and dry-pastry disc can be baked 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and kept airtight at room temperature.
• •The apricots, vanilla rice, and frangipane can be prepared 1 day ahead and chilled separately. Spread the cooked rice on a shallow tray so it cools promptly, then cover it once cold.
• •The almond-milk syrup can be reduced 1 day ahead. Chill it without the finishing butter, then rewarm gently and whisk in the butter just before serving.
• •The apricot glaze prepared according to The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344) can be held airtight until assembly. Coat with Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382), brown, fill, and decorate on the day the dessert is served.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)