Cherries à la Valeria

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Six 3-inch (8 cm) fluted metal tartlet tins
• •Rolling pin
• •Parchment paper and baking weights
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Shallow freezer-safe metal pan
• •Cherry pitter
• •Piping bag with a broad plain or star tip
• •Two nesting rimmed metal trays
• •Pastry brush
• •Kitchen torch, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the currant base

   Combine the red currants, ⅔ cup sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Bring them to a gentle simmer, crushing the berries against the pan as they burst, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until the liquid is brilliant red and the fruit has collapsed. Press everything through a fine sieve. Measure ⅓ cup (80 ml / about 90 g) of the strained liquid into the clean saucepan and simmer it down to ¼ cup (60 ml / about 70 g), just thick enough to coat a spoon. This is the red-currant syrup for finishing; chill it separately. Pour the remaining currant base into a shallow metal pan and cool it completely.

   Frozen red currants are an honest choice outside their short season. They collapse into the syrup exactly as required, so use them directly from the freezer.
2. 2

   Make the pâte sucrée

   Whisk the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt together. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs, then add the egg yolk and press the dough together. If dry flour remains, add the ice water a few drops at a time. Stop as soon as the dough holds; kneading develops toughness. Flatten it into a disc, wrap it, and chill for 45 minutes.

3. 3

   Bake the tartlet shells

   Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Roll the chilled pâte sucrée between two sheets of parchment to about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Line six 3-inch (8 cm) fluted metal tartlet tins, pressing the pastry into every corner without stretching it. Trim the rims and chill for 20 minutes. Line each shell with parchment and baking weights, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, until evenly golden and dry at the base. Cool completely before unmolding.

   If a shell cracks while warm, press a crumb of spare pastry into the opening and return it to the oven for two minutes. Ça se rattrape, and the frozen filling will hide the repair.
4. 4

   Freeze the currant ice

   Freeze the shallow pan of currant base until ice forms around the edges, about 45 minutes. Scrape it thoroughly with a fork, then repeat every 30 minutes until the whole mixture is finely crystalline and slushy. Whip the cold cream to soft peaks and fold it through the red-currant ice without crushing out all its lightness. Freeze until firm but still workable, about 1 hour. If it becomes solid before filling, leave it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and beat it smooth with a sturdy spoon.

5. 5

   Poach the cherries

   Bring the Bordeaux and ½ cup sugar to a gentle simmer in a saucepan just wide enough to hold the cherries. Stir until the sugar dissolves, add the pitted cherries, and keep the liquid at the faintest tremble for 3 to 5 minutes. The fruit should soften while remaining whole. Lift the cherries out with a slotted spoon and chill them in a single layer. If their skins begin splitting, remove them immediately; they will finish tenderizing as they cool. Reserve the poaching wine for another dessert or a glass of sparkling water.

6. 6

   Fill and hard-freeze

   Pack the creamy red-currant ice into the cold tartlet shells, filling each just to the pastry rim and smoothing the top. Set the tartlets on a small rimmed metal tray and freeze for at least 1 hour, until the filling is hard through the center. Don't continue while it is merely firm at the surface. This deep freeze is what buys you the seconds needed beneath the broiler.

7. 7

   Prepare the cold cradle

   Chill the serving platter. Pack the broken ice into a larger rimmed metal tray, keeping it below the rim so meltwater cannot slosh into the pastry. Nest the smaller tray of frozen tartlets securely over the ice. Use metal trays only; glass or ceramic can crack when carried directly from deep cold beneath fierce heat.

8. 8

   Pipe and crown

   Fold the vanilla seeds gently through the prepared Meringue à l’Italienne (No. 2383). Transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a broad plain or star tip, then pipe a generous spiral over each frozen tartlet, covering the red-currant ice completely. Blot the chilled cherries very dry and press 4 or 5 into the meringue on each tartlet. The cherries belong in place before the heat, exactly as the composition requires.

9. 9

   Dry the meringue fast

   Heat the broiler fully and place a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below it. Carry the nested metal trays beneath the broiler for 15 to 20 seconds, rotate them, and repeat only until the meringue loses its wet shine and takes the faintest straw-gold color at its ridges. Work in seconds, not minutes. If the red-currant ice softens or the pastry begins sliding, stop and return the small tray to the freezer until hard, replace the broken ice, then continue. Ça se rattrape. A kitchen torch may be swept over the exposed meringue instead, always moving and avoiding the cherries.

10. 10

    Glaze and serve

    Brush the cherries immediately with the cold red-currant syrup, letting it catch in their curves without flooding the meringue. If the syrup has jelled, loosen it drop by drop with cold water until it brushes cleanly. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Arrange the tartlets on the chilled platter over a neatly folded white napkin, which steadies the shells and keeps them from direct contact with a warm plate. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use small fluted metal tartlet tins, not deep ramekins. The shallow shape lets each spoonful take pastry, red-currant ice, meringue, and cherry together.
• •Choose a dry, fruit-led red Bordeaux without heavy oak. Sugar and cherries soften its tannin during poaching, while an aggressively woody bottle leaves a bitter edge.
• •Fresh cherries hold the handsomest shape. Outside their season, use individually frozen pitted cherries and poach them for no more than a minute; they'll be softer, but the flavor remains sound.
• •The broken-ice tray is not presentation theater. It protects the frozen layer during the brief application of top heat, and it must be renewed if it begins swimming in meltwater.
• •Serve these the moment they are glazed. Waiting dulls the pastry, softens the red-currant ice, and turns a disciplined dessert into an anxious one.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the tartlet shells a day ahead and keep them airtight at room temperature. If they soften, refresh them for 3 minutes in a 325°F (165°C) oven and cool completely.
• •The red-currant ice can be made up to 3 days ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface and let it soften only enough to pack into the shells.
• •Poach and chill the cherries up to a day ahead. Keep them separate from their wine and blot them dry before assembly.
• •Have Meringue à l’Italienne (No. 2383) prepared before assembly. Its preparation time belongs to its own entry and is separate from this recipe's total time.
• •Fill the tartlet shells and freeze them several hours before serving. Pipe, crown, dry, glaze, and garnish only when the table is ready for dessert.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)