Coupes Mireille

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-quart ice cream machine or shallow metal freezing pan
• •2-quart wide saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve and blender
• •Small heavy saucepan and candy thermometer
• •Four chilled footed glass coupes
• •Two forks and two wooden spoon handles for spinning sugar
• •Piping bag with a medium star tip, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the currant base

   Combine the red currants, ⅔ cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons water in a saucepan. Bring them to a gentle simmer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, just until the berries burst and the sugar dissolves. Blend briefly, then press the purée through a fine sieve without grinding the seeds against the mesh. Cool it completely over an ice bath before stirring in the 1 cup cold cream and the salt. The cream goes into cold fruit, not hot acid. If the mixture looks grainy, chill it, blend it briefly, and strain once more. Ça se rattrape.

   Frozen red currants are entirely honorable here. They were picked ripe, and this cream ice needs their acidity more than it needs the appearance of fresh berries.
2. 2

   Churn the cream ice

   Churn the glace aux groseilles à la crème, the red-currant cream ice, until it mounds softly and holds the trail of the paddle, usually 20 to 25 minutes. Pack it into a shallow chilled container, press parchment against the surface, and freeze for about 2 hours. Without a machine, freeze it in a shallow metal pan and whisk vigorously every 30 minutes four times before letting it firm. The texture will be a little less fine, but the fruit and cream remain true. If the glace freezes too hard, let it stand in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before scooping rather than hacking at it on the counter.

3. 3

   Poach the nectarines

   Peel the nectarines, halve each one neatly along its seam, and remove the stones while the flesh is still firm. Keep the matching halves together. Combine the 2½ cups water, 1½ cups sugar, vanilla pod, and vanilla seeds in a wide saucepan, then simmer for 5 minutes. Lower in the nectarine halves, cover them with a round of parchment, and poach at the barest tremble for 6 to 10 minutes. They are ready when a fine skewer enters without force but the edges still hold their shape. If the syrup boils and a fruit begins to slump, take the pan off the heat immediately and let the remaining halves finish in the cooling syrup. Lift the fruit carefully into a shallow dish, strain the syrup over it, and chill for at least 1 hour.

4. 4

   Whip the Chantilly

   Chill four glass coupes. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the Chantilly cream, then whip the remainder with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract until it holds clean, soft ridges firm enough to pipe. Stop there. Chantilly should look generous and silken, not stiff. If it turns grainy, fold in the reserved liquid cream a teaspoon at a time until smooth again.

5. 5

   Spin the sugar veil

   Line the sink or work surface with parchment and set two wooden spoon handles 6 inches apart over it, brushing the handles very lightly with neutral oil. Put the ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup water in a small clean saucepan. Stir over low heat only until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and cook to a pale amber, about 311°F to 320°F (155°C to 160°C). Let the syrup stand briefly until a fork lifted from it draws a fine thread. Dip two forks held back-to-back into the caramel and flick quick strands across the handles, then gather the cooled threads into four loose veils. Hot caramel burns fiercely, so use dry tools and never touch a strand until it has hardened. If crystals seize the syrup before it colors, add the reserved 2 tablespoons water, dissolve it gently, and begin again. If humidity softens the veils, remelt the caramel and spin them immediately before serving.

6. 6

   Assemble the coupes

   Drain the cold nectarine halves and blot them gently. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Bar-le-Duc white-currant jam into each stone cavity, then reunite each pair of halves. In every chilled coupe, set a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on one side and a matching scoop of red-currant glace on the other, preserving the original half-and-half arrangement. Place one filled nectarine in the middle, pipe or spoon Chantilly around its base, and drape a spun-sugar veil over the top at the last possible moment. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose firm-ripe freestone nectarines. Fragrance matters, but softness does not help you here; the fruit must endure peeling, halving, poaching, filling, and reassembly without collapsing.
• •Bar-le-Duc white-currant jam is not a decorative luxury. Its bright acidity and pale translucence are chosen to disappear inside the nectarine while sharpening all that cream. If it cannot be found, use another whole white-currant preserve and say honestly what changed.
• •Use vanilla ice cream with real cream and a clear vanilla flavor, not one burdened with caramel, egg-custard heaviness, or sweet mix-ins. The vanilla half is meant to quiet the red currant, not compete with it.
• •Spun sugar dislikes moisture. Make the veils after the table is ready, keep them away from the refrigerator, and place them on the coupes only as they leave the kitchen.
• •A demi-sec Champagne suits the currants and Chantilly without bullying the nectarine. Pour small glasses. The coupe has quite enough celebration in it already.

Advance Preparation

• •The red-currant cream ice can be churned up to 3 days ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface and move it to the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before scooping if it becomes very firm.
• •The nectarines can be poached 1 day ahead and chilled in their syrup. Drain and blot them shortly before filling so loose syrup does not melt the ice.
• •Chantilly can be whipped up to 4 hours ahead and held cold. Spun sugar cannot share that schedule; make it in the driest room available shortly before serving.
• •Chill the coupes and set out every component before assembly. Once the ice is scooped, the dessert waits for no one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)