Coupes Petit Duc

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.5-quart heavy saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Shallow metal freezing pan
• •Countertop ice-cream machine
• •Food processor
• •Piping bag with 6 mm round tip
• •Four wide dessert coupes

Instructions

1. 1

   Freeze the lemon ice

   Make the glace au citron, the lemon water ice. Combine the water, sugar, and lemon zest in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, and stir only until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for one minute, cover, and infuse for ten minutes. Strain into a shallow metal pan, cool completely, then stir in the lemon juice. Keep the juice away from the heat so its clean acidity stays alive. Freeze for forty-five minutes, scrape the frozen edges into the centre with a fork, and repeat every thirty minutes until evenly crystalline and firm, about three hours.

   Taste the cold mixture before freezing. It should seem slightly sweeter and sharper than you want, because freezing mutes both sugar and acidity.
2. 2

   Cook the vanilla custard

   Make the glace à la vanille, the vanilla ice cream. Heat the milk, cream, vanilla pod, and scraped seeds until small bubbles gather at the edge. Cover and infuse off the heat for ten minutes. Whisk the yolks with the sugar until smooth, then pour in the warm dairy gradually while whisking. Return everything to low heat and stir continuously until the crème anglaise reaches 82°C or 180°F and nappes, coating the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. If the first fine curds appear, pull it from the heat, blend briefly, and strain at once into a cold bowl. Ça se rattrape. Chill over ice, cover, and refrigerate until thoroughly cold, at least four hours.

3. 3

   Poach the peaches

   Bring the poaching water and sugar to a gentle simmer in a saucepan wide enough to hold the peach halves in one layer. Add the peaches cut-side up, cover the surface with a round of baking paper, and poach at the barest tremble for five to ten minutes. They are ready when a thin knife enters with slight resistance. Lift them out before they become soft enough to collapse, slip off the skins while warm, and place them in a shallow container. Strain the syrup over them and chill completely. If a half tears, place that side downward at assembly and let the preserve fill the cavity. Never apologize at your own table.

4. 4

   Churn the vanilla ice

   Remove the vanilla pod and churn the cold custard in a countertop ice-cream machine until thick, smooth, and softly mounded, usually twenty to twenty-five minutes. A warm base cannot freeze finely, so if the machine struggles and the custard remains loose, stop and chill the base again before continuing. Pack the vanilla ice into a covered container and freeze until firm enough to hold the peach, about two hours.

5. 5

   Condition the frozen elements

   Chill four wide dessert coupes for thirty minutes. Break the firm lemon ice into chunks and pulse it in a food processor just until smooth enough to pipe, then transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a 6 mm round tip. If the blades merely rattle against hard pieces, wait five minutes and try again; if the ice becomes slushy, return it to the shallow pan for fifteen minutes. Ça se rattrape. Drain the peaches very well, and stir the preserve until spoonable. If it is stiff, loosen it with one teaspoon of the cold poaching syrup.

6. 6

   Assemble the coupes

   Spread about 1/2 cup of vanilla ice in the bottom of each chilled coupe, making a shallow bed rather than distinct scoops. Set one poached peach half on top, cut-side up, and fill its hollow with a generous two teaspoons of Bar-le-Duc redcurrant preserve. Pipe a narrow, continuous thread of lemon ice around the peach. Work with all four coupes together and serve immediately. If the first one slumps, return the components to the freezer for ten minutes before continuing. Cold control is the step that decides the dish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Bar-le-Duc preserve is not ordinary redcurrant jelly. Look for confiture de groseilles de Bar-le-Duc with visible whole currants; if it cannot be found, use a fine whole-fruit redcurrant preserve and understand that the texture will be less delicate.
• •Fresh peaches must be ripe enough to smell fragrant but firm enough to survive poaching. Out of season, use four good canned yellow-peach halves in light syrup, drain them thoroughly, and skip the poaching step. The classical pantry has always preferred honest preserved fruit to a sad fresh one.
• •A domestic freezer holds ice cream harder than a service freezer. Let the vanilla ice stand for five to ten minutes before spreading it into the coupes, but keep the peaches and glasses properly cold.
• •Do not reduce the lemon or replace its thread with a decorative twist of peel. The lemon ice is structural, not ornamental; its acidity is what makes the cream, peach, and currant taste composed rather than merely sweet.

Advance Preparation

• •The vanilla custard and lemon syrup can be prepared and chilled a day before churning or freezing. Keep both covered so they take on no freezer aromas.
• •The vanilla and lemon ices can be frozen up to three days ahead. Press parchment or reusable freezer wrap directly against the vanilla ice and cover the lemon ice tightly.
• •Poach the peaches up to one day ahead and refrigerate them submerged in their syrup. Drain and blot them just before assembly so syrup does not melt the vanilla ice.
• •Chill the coupes thirty minutes before dessert, but assemble only when the table is ready. The clean contrast of textures is sharpest in the first few minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 390g)