Chef Juliette
Various Almond Preparations
Five almond preparations, one discipline: remove the skins cleanly, dry every kernel through, then cut, toast, or cloak it in pale caramel without letting its fragrant oils escape.
Culinary Explorer
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Coupes Edna May
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2800, Coupes Edna May, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Vanilla ice cream, cherries chilled until their syrup gleams, and raspberry-pink Chantilly piled high: a named French coupe whose success rests on one last, gentle fold.
Desserts
French
Romantic
Valentines Day
Dinner Party
25 min
Prep Time
10 min cook•2 hr 40 min total
Yield4 servings
Coupes Edna May (Edna May ice cream cups) teaches the discipline of cold assembly. Chantilly (sweetened whipped cream) must stand in a clean cone, the cherries must be cold enough not to soften the ice, and the raw raspberry purée goes in only after the cream is whipped. That final fold is the one true thing to know before you touch the saucepan.
The original entry assumed a pâtissier's station with vanilla ice already hardened, stewed cherries cold in their syrup, and bowls and cream waiting on ice. It gives no quantities because each coupe was assembled to order. This home version fixes the balance for four servings: one generous scoop of vanilla ice, a layer of cherries, and a high cone of Chantilly in each glass. Good dense vanilla ice cream is the honest equivalent of the pastry station's ready tub. Making and churning a separate custard is scaffolding the entry did not ask for; the cold sequence and raspberry-tinted cone are the dish, and they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Whip the Chantilly a shade firmer than you want it, then fold in the strained purée with three or four broad turns. If it loosens, chill it over ice and whisk briefly. Ça se rattrape. Give the cherries their full cold rest, then fold the purée only at the finish; that final cold fold decides the coupe.
Coupes Edna May belongs to the named coupes of French grand-hotel dessert service, a cosmopolitan table rather than the cooking of any single region. Edna May was an American musical-comedy star celebrated in London, and French kitchens often christened composed ices for performers whose names their guests knew. The formula is not simply a cherry sundae: its classical identity lies in stewed cherries served very cold over vanilla ice, then capped with Chantilly colored by raw raspberry purée.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dark sweet cherries
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 300 g)
pitted; fresh or frozen and thawed
granulated sugar
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 65 g)
water
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
dense full-fat vanilla ice cream
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 400 g)
kept hard-frozen; homemade or bought
fresh raspberries
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 60 g)
rinsed and dried
heavy whipping cream, at least 35% fat
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
well chilled
confectioners' sugar
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 15 g)
sifted
pure vanilla extract
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 2 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dark sweet cherriespitted; fresh or frozen and thawed | 2 cups (475 ml / 300 g) |
| granulated sugar | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 65 g) |
| water | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| dense full-fat vanilla ice creamkept hard-frozen; homemade or bought | 2 cups (475 ml / 400 g) |
| fresh raspberriesrinsed and dried | ½ cup (120 ml / 60 g) |
| heavy whipping cream, at least 35% fatwell chilled | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| confectioners' sugarsifted | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 15 g) |
| pure vanilla extract | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 2 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •1-quart (1-liter) saucepan
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Medium chilled metal mixing bowl
- •Balloon whisk or electric hand mixer
- •Piping bag fitted with a ⅝-inch (15 mm) plain or open-star tip, or a large spoon
- •Four 10-ounce (300 ml) stemmed coupes
Instructions
- 1
Stew the cherries
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring them to a gentle boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Add the cherries and any juice released while thawing, then lower the heat until the syrup barely trembles. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning the fruit gently, until the cherries are tender and glossy but still hold their shape. Lift them into a shallow container. If the liquid looks watery, reduce it alone until it lightly coats a spoon, then pour it over the fruit. If it becomes thick or sticky, loosen it with a tablespoon of water before it cools.
A hard boil bursts the cherries and clouds the syrup. Keep the movement gentle; stewed fruit should remain fruit, not become jam. - 2
Chill them thoroughly
Let the cherries cool uncovered for about 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate them in their syrup for at least 2 hours. They must be cold all the way through. Shortly before assembly, drain them in a sieve for 5 minutes and reserve the syrup; the fruit should carry a garnet gloss, not enough liquid to melt the ice cream.
- 3
Sieve the raspberries
Press the raw raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve with the back of a spoon, leaving the seeds behind. Measure 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of smooth purée and refrigerate it until very cold. Do not cook it and do not replace it with jam. The fresh acidity and clear pink color are the point.
- 4
Prepare the coupe bases
Chill four stemmed coupes in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Let the vanilla ice cream stand only until a scoop cuts through it cleanly, then divide it among the cold glasses, placing one generous scoop in the bottom of each. Return the filled coupes to the freezer while you make the Chantilly. If the ice cream has begun to shine or smear, leave it in the freezer until its surface looks firm and matte again.
- 5
Whip and tint Chantilly
Whip the cold cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until it holds medium-firm peaks, slightly firmer than you want to serve it. Add the 2 tablespoons of cold raspberry purée all at once and fold with a flexible spatula, using only three or four broad turns, until the cream is evenly pale pink. The purée goes in at the very end or the added water loosens the cream into soup. If it does soften too far, set the bowl over ice and whisk by hand just until it mounds again. Ça se rattrape.
Pale raspberry pink is correct. Adding extra purée for stronger color weakens the Chantilly and overwhelms the cherries. - 6
Assemble and serve
Take the coupes from the freezer and divide the very cold cherries over the vanilla ice cream, adding no more than a teaspoon of reserved syrup to each. Pipe or spoon the raspberry Chantilly into a high cone over the cherries, covering them without crushing the layer beneath. Serve at once, while the ice is firm, the cherries are distinct, and the Chantilly stands proud. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use fresh cherries when they are fragrant and properly ripe. Outside their season, unsweetened frozen dark sweet cherries are the honest classical pantry answer; thaw them in the refrigerator and keep every drop of their juice for the syrup.
- •Choose dense, full-fat vanilla ice cream with real dairy and a clear vanilla flavor. A very airy ice cream collapses under the cherries before the coupe reaches the table.
- •Raspberry purée here means raw fruit pushed through a sieve. Cooked raspberry sauce or jam gives a duller flavor and too much sugar, while food coloring misses the technique entirely.
- •Very cold means refrigerator-cold through the center, not nearly cool. Warm cherries melt channels through the vanilla ice and leave the Chantilly sliding after them.
Advance Preparation
- •The cherries may be stewed up to three days ahead and refrigerated in their syrup. Drain them only shortly before assembly so they remain plump and glossy.
- •The raw raspberry purée may be sieved up to four hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
- •The chilled coupes may be filled with vanilla ice cream up to 30 minutes before serving and held in the freezer. Whip and tint the Chantilly only when the cherries are drained and the table is ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 295g)
Calories
545 calories
Total Fat
33 g
Saturated Fat
21 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
110 mg
Sodium
100 mg
Total Carbohydrates
59 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
53 g
Protein
6 g
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