Glace Dame-Jeanne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-litre narrow scallop-shell Madeleine-mould, metal pudding mould, or compact loaf tin
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Silicone baking mat
• •Food processor or spice grinder
• •Fine-mesh sieve, approximately 1 mm
• •Chilled mixing bowl and whisk
• •Small offset spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the mould

   Clear a level space in the freezer and chill the empty 1-litre Madeleine-mould for at least 30 minutes. Metal gives the cleanest shell and freezes fastest; silicone works, but set it on a rigid tray before filling so it cannot bend. Chill the mixing bowl, whisk, and serving platter at the same time.

2. 2

   Praline the blossoms

   Toast the almonds in a small dry saucepan over medium heat until pale gold and fragrant, then tip them onto a plate. Put the caster sugar and water in the pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat and boil without stirring until the syrup turns a clear amber. If crystals gather at the sides, cover the pan for 30 seconds so the condensation washes them down. Once amber, remove the pan from the heat, immediately stir in the toasted almonds and dried orange blossoms, and pour the mixture onto a silicone mat in a thin layer. Let it become completely cold and hard. Dark, acrid caramel cannot be repaired, so if it burns, remake it before proceeding.

3. 3

   Sieve the pralin

   Break the cold caramel into small pieces and grind it in short pulses until it becomes a fine, dry pralin, meaning caramelized almond sugar ground to powder. Pass it through a fine-mesh sieve. Return every coarse particle to the grinder and repeat rather than forcing it through; if the first grinding leaves pebbles, ça se rattrape. The finished pralin should feel like floury crumbs between the fingers, with no hard granules capable of gritting the Chantilly. Keep it completely cold and dry.

   Humidity makes pralin sticky. If it begins clumping, spread it on a cold plate for a few minutes, then sieve it again before it reaches the cream.
4. 4

   Clothe the mould

   Let two-thirds of the vanilla ice cream soften until it spreads like cold putty but remains matte, never glossy or runny. Use the mould-clothing principle cited in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916): press the ice cream over the bottom and sides of the frozen mould in an even layer about 8 to 10 mm thick, turning the mould as you work. Run the back of a spoon over the lining to close air pockets, then hold it toward the light and patch any thin place immediately. Freeze for 45 minutes, until hard. A torn or uneven lining is not a verdict; patch it with more ice cream and freeze for another 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Whip the Chantilly

   Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cold cream. Whip the remainder with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until it holds soft, rounded peaks, then continue only until those peaks gain enough body to stand. Fold in the cold sieved pralin in two additions, reaching to the bottom of the bowl so no heavy streak remains. If the Chantilly begins looking slightly grainy from overwhipping, fold in the reserved unwhipped cream one teaspoon at a time until it smooths. If it has separated fully into butter and liquid, remake it; stopping at soft peaks is the simpler wisdom.

6. 6

   Fill and seal

   Spoon the orange-flower pralin Chantilly into the frozen vanilla shell, pressing gently into the scalloped corners without crushing out all its air. Leave about 1 cm free at the top. Soften the reserved vanilla ice cream just enough to spread, then cover the Chantilly completely and join this cap to the frozen lining around the rim. Smooth the base level, cover closely, and freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

7. 7

   Unmould and serve

   Set the chilled platter over the mould and invert both together. Wrap the outside of a metal mould for several seconds with a cloth wrung from hot water, then lift carefully. If the glace refuses to release, warm the mould for another two seconds rather than pulling at the dessert. Should an edge soften, return the whole platter to the freezer for 10 minutes; it will set cleanly again. Rest the unmoulded Glace Dame-Jeanne for 5 minutes, then cut it with a thin knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between slices. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy dense vanilla ice cream made with real cream and a clear vanilla flavor. The source treats vanilla ice cream as a finished component, so buying it is an honest home translation; spinning a separate batch is brigade scaffolding, not the identity of Glace Dame-Jeanne.
• •Use only food-grade, unsprayed bitter-orange blossoms. Dried culinary blossoms replace the fresh flowers once available to specialist pastry kitchens because they can be sourced and measured reliably, but their perfume is concentrated. More is not better.
• •The sieve decides the texture. Grind the pralin, sieve it, and grind the coarse remainder again. Once hard caramel grains have been folded into Chantilly, they cannot be removed without collapsing the cream.
• •If a large scallop-shell Madeleine-mould cannot be found, use a 1-litre metal pudding mould or compact loaf tin. The silhouette changes, but the source's essential construction remains: vanilla ice outside, orange-flower pralin Chantilly within.

Advance Preparation

• •The orange-flower pralin can be made up to one week ahead. Keep it airtight in a cool, dry cupboard and sieve it again if humidity causes any clumping.
• •The filled mould can be frozen up to three days ahead, tightly covered so the vanilla ice cream takes on no freezer odors.
• •Chill the serving platter before unmoulding. The finished glace may be turned out 20 minutes before dessert and held in the freezer, then rested for 5 minutes before slicing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)