Mont-Blanc aux Fraises

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Deep metal mixing bowl
• •Electric hand mixer or balloon whisk
• •Broad flexible spatula
• •Chilled 10-inch serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the vanilla syrup

   Split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape the seeds from one half into a small saucepan, then add its pod, the water, and the granulated sugar. Bring just to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and cook for one minute. Take it off the heat and cool it completely, then chill it. The syrup must be cold before it touches the wild strawberries; warm syrup softens them and draws out too much juice.

   To cool the syrup quickly, pour it into a shallow metal bowl and set that bowl over ice. Remove the vanilla pod once the syrup is cold.
2. 2

   Macerate and drain

   Put the wild strawberries in a small bowl and pour the cold vanilla syrup over them. Turn them once with a spoon and leave them for 10 minutes, just long enough to perfume the fruit without collapsing it. Tip everything into a fine sieve and drain for 15 minutes without pressing. Spread the berries on a double layer of absorbent kitchen paper and blot around them gently. They are ready when they look matte rather than lacquered. If they still glisten, give them another dry paper and five more minutes; this is the step that holds up the mountain.

3. 3

   Frost the large berries

   Make certain the 12 whole strawberries are perfectly dry. Whisk the pasteurized egg white only until loosened and lightly bubbly, not foamy. Roll each berry in the thinnest possible coat, let the excess drip away, then roll it in the sucre semoule, the fine granulated sugar, until evenly frosted. Set the berries on parchment for 30 to 45 minutes so the crystalline shell can settle. If the sugar clumps or slides, the egg-white coat was too heavy; brush away the wet patch, blot the berry dry, and coat it again. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Chill the equipment

   Put a deep metal mixing bowl, the whisk or mixer beaters, a broad spatula, and the serving platter in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Keep the drained wild strawberries cold as well. Chantilly gains its strength from cold fat holding air, so a warm bowl gives you volume without enough structure.

5. 5

   Whip the Chantilly

   Scrape the seeds from the remaining half vanilla bean into the chilled bowl. Add the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar, then whisk at medium speed until the cream thickens. Slow down as it reaches firm peaks and stop when the whisk leaves deep tracks and an upright peak holds without drooping. The Chantilly should be very stiff but still smooth and satin-like, never grainy. It will have nearly doubled to about 2 cups, preserving the source proportion of 2 ounces of fruit to 1 pint of finished Chantilly. Set aside ¼ cup of the stiff Chantilly in the cold.

6. 6

   Fold in the fruit

   Scatter one-third of the drained wild strawberries over the larger bowl of Chantilly. Cut down through the centre with the broad spatula, sweep along the bottom, and turn the cream over the fruit. Repeat with the remaining berries, using as few strokes as possible. Fold in the reserved Chantilly with the last two turns. If the mixture slackens, stop moving it, chill the bowl over ice for five minutes, then use that reserved stiff cream to rebuild the outside of the mass. Ça se rattrape. If it still cannot hold a mound, spoon it into chilled coupes and finish them with the same berries; the architecture has changed, not the pleasure.

7. 7

   Shape the mountain

   Spoon the strawberry Chantilly into the centre of the chilled platter. With the broad spatula, draw the cream upward and inward to form a compact dome about 5 inches across, smoothing the sides with long, light strokes. Do not press or fuss at the surface. A mold and a pastry hand were useful brigade scaffolding, but the dish asks only for a generous dome that stands cleanly.

8. 8

   Crown and serve

   Arrange the 12 frosted whole strawberries closely around the foot of the dome. Lay the 8 very red strawberry halves over its surface, cut sides showing, with their pointed ends following the curve. Serve at once, or chill uncovered for no more than 30 minutes. The sugar frost gradually drinks in moisture and the Chantilly softens as it waits, so this is a dessert for the moment it is finished. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fraises des bois, woodland strawberries, carry the fragrance this spare dessert needs. Frozen berries release too much water, and ordinary large strawberries cannot quite replace their perfume. This is one of the dishes that truly belongs to its season.
• •Choose heavy cream with at least 36% fat. Lower-fat cream may whip, but it seldom holds the very stiff dome required here. Keep the cream, bowl, whisk, fruit, and platter properly cold.
• •Sucre semoule means fine granulated sugar in this formula, not wheat semolina. Its visible crystals give the base berries their frosted finish; confectioners’ sugar would dissolve into a paste.
• •Use pasteurized egg white because the berry coating is not cooked. Beat it only enough to loosen it, since foam makes an uneven shell and hides the red fruit under clumps.
• •A lightly sweet sparkling Bugey-Cerdon or demi-sec Champagne suits the strawberries and cream. Serve small glasses. The dessert already knows how to celebrate.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the vanilla syrup up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it in a covered jar with the vanilla pod. Remove the pod before macerating the fruit.
• •Wash all the strawberries several hours ahead and dry them thoroughly. Frost the 12 whole berries 30 to 45 minutes before assembly; prolonged refrigeration after coating makes the sugar dissolve.
• •Macerate and drain the wild strawberries no more than 1 hour before folding, keeping them cold on dry absorbent paper. Whip and assemble the Mont-Blanc within 30 minutes of serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)