Vacherins Recipes

VACHERIN

Steps:

• The Meringue Discs: Separate the whites from the yolks of egg, sift the flour, sift the chocolate powder. Heat the oven to 225 degrees F. Grease and dust a cookie sheet with flour. Place a plain nozzle in a piping bag.
• Make the meringues by whisking in a large bowl the whites of eggs until very stiff. Beat in the salt and water, and gradually start beating in the sugar little by little (if this is done too quickly the whites will lose their bulk and turn almost liquid). Fold in the last tablespoon of sugar. The mixture should now have a good gloss and be very "peaky". Now place the glistening white meringue mixture into the forcing bag and pipe it into two 9-inch circles (being the same diameter as the cake) on the cookie sheet and dust with the chocolate powder. The remaining mixture can then be piped into small animal shapes as decoration.
• Place the meringue mixture immediately into the preheated oven (225 degrees F.) on the middle shelf and bake for 2 1/2 hours. When ready the discs and animals should lift easily from the baking sheet and have a hollow sound when gently tapped, these can be cooled on a wire rack until required. They can also be stored in an airtight tin for several days, should you want to prepare this dessert ahead of time.
• Cream Filling: Whip the cream until stiff and divide the cream into 2 bowls.
• The almonds can be placed on a cookie sheet and broiled until golden brown and cooled. The sponge cake can now be split in 2 and the base lightly soaked with rum.
• Assembly: Place the base of the cake on a plate. Spread a little chestnut puree over this and then a good wallop of fresh cream from one bowl.
• Pop the second layer of sponge cake on top and sprinkle with rum.
• To the cream in the first bowl, add more of the chestnut puree and beat in very thoroughly. Blend together with rum. Scoop this on top of the cake.
• Take one layer of the baked cooled meringue and place this on top.
• From the second bowl, take the puree, whipped cream and spread a thick layer of this gently on top of the meringue disc.
• Lower the second round of meringue on top. To the remainder of cream, add the last of the chestnut puree and spread this over the sides of the vacherin and a thin layer over the top, using a palette knife.
• Gently press the flaked almonds over the sides. Decorate the top with meringue animals and dust with the chocolate powder.

VACHERINS

Steps:

• Beat the whites until foamy then add the sugar and continue whipping until stiff and glossy, about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and whip very briefly just to incorporate. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a small (1/4-inch) plain tip and pipe onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Make a small round flat base 1/2-inch in diameter, then pipe a ring of meringue at the edge of the base and spiral up to make it two rows high. Continue making vacherins in rows on the sheet pan. Dry them out on the top of an oven that has been on, or preheat the oven to 300 degrees, then turn it off and place the vacherin meringues in it 5 minutes later. Leave them over night to dry out until crisp. Using a pastry bag, pipe whipped cream in the center and top each one with a raspberry.

RASPBERRY VACHERIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees F.
• Whip the egg whites until fluffy using a standing or hand held mixer. While on high speed, add 1/2 of the sugar. Slow to low speed and add the remainder of the sugar. Beat for 3 more minutes.
• Add the raspberry powder by hand and mix with a spatula. Place the mixture into a pastry bag. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Using the pastry bag, create round domes with the mixture.
• Place in the oven at for 2 1/2 hours. Keep oven on. Remove from the oven and scoop out the insides with a spoon. Place back onto baking sheet and cook again for 1 hour at 190 degrees F.
• Let cool and store in a dry place.
• For Raspberry Sauce:
• Blend 1 basket of fresh raspberries with sugar to taste. (Frozen raspberries may be substituted).

VACHERINS WITH LEMON CURD AND STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Meringues: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a ookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Place 2 egg whites, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons sugar, cream of tartar and a pinch of salt in bowl of electric mixer. Using whisk attachment, whip until egg whites hold stiff peaks and are glossy (this may take as long as 10 or 15 minutes). Add vanilla and beat just until incorporated.
• Fill a pastry bag that has a small (1/4 inch), plain tip. Pipe a small amount of meringue under each corner of parchment to keep it secure during baking.
• Pipe a quarter-sized base of meringue onto the parchment. Next pipe a ring of meringue around the base and spiral upward to make a "nest" three rows high. Continue piping rows with remaining meringue.
• Bake in the oven for several hours until meringue is dry and crisp on the outside but slightly chewy on the inside (usually at least 3 hours). Let cool.
• Lemon Curd: Place 4 eggs, 1 cup sugar and lemon zest and juice in large mixing bowl or double boiler. Whisk constantly and vigorously over pot of simmering water on low heat until mixture is no longer foaming and very thick.
• Remove from heat. Add butter, whisking in until melted; season with salt. Strain curd, cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready for use.
• To serve: Fill each meringue with a small dollop of lemon curd- too much will cause the curd to drip over the sides once the strawberry is added.
• Top each filled meringue with one halved strawberry. Garnish each with a mint leaf or tip, if desired.

WARM VACHERIN

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler and position a rack 8 to 9 inches below the heat.
• If the Vacherin box is stapled together, simply place it on a sheet pan. If the box is glued together, wrap a piece of aluminum foil tightly around the bottom and sides (not the top) before placing it on a sheet pan. (Yes, you will be broiling the cheese in the box.) With a small sharp knife, remove and discard the top rind of the cheese. Pour the white wine over the cheese.
• Broil the cheese for 2 to 3 minutes, watching carefully so the box doesn't catch on fire. Remove from the oven, sprinkle generously with fleur de sel and pepper, and serve immediately with toasted breads and cornichons. I put a small spoon in the cheese for people to help themselves.

VACHERINS WITH RASPBERRY SORBET AND MIXED BERRY-CARDAMOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Position 1 rack in bottom third and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 200°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 3 1/4- to 3 1/2-inch-diameter cookie cutter as template, heavily trace 4 circles on each parchment sheet. Turn parchment over so that marked side faces down (circles will show through).
• Whisk sugar and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend. Using heavy-duty or handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat whites in large bowl until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Add sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until whites are very stiff and glossy, at least 4 minutes with heavy-duty mixer and 6 to 8 minutes with handheld. Scoop enough meringue into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip to fill 1/3 full. Pipe small dot of meringue under parchment in each corner of baking sheets. Press parchment onto dots.
• Starting in center of 1 marked circle, pipe meringue in continuous spiral to fill circle completely. Pipe 1 meringue circle atop edge of base circle, forming standing rim. Repeat, piping 2 more circles atop first, forming meringue cup. Pipe 3 more cups on sheet, filling bag with meringue as needed. Pipe 4 cups on second sheet.
• Bake meringues 3 hours without opening oven door (sides of meringues may settle slightly). Turn off oven; let meringues stand in closed oven over-night to dry completely. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight in single layer.)
• Whisk jam, sugar and 1/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and jam melts. Boil until sauce thickens and is reduced to generous 3/4 cup, whisking often, about 7 minutes. Add berries and cardamom; stir gently. Remove from heat; let stand 1 hour to thaw fruit. Cover; chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Scoop sorbet into vacherins. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap tightly; freeze. If you freeze the vacherins, the meringues will be tender and chewy rather than crisp.) Spoon sauce over. Garnish with berries and mint. Serve with remaining sauce.

MERINGUE NESTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°F (100°C).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, begin whipping the egg whites with the salt at medium speed until frothy.
• Increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high and whip until the egg whites thicken and begin to hold their shape. Continue whipping the whites while adding the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Once the sugar's been added, add the vanilla and continue to whip for 2 minutes, until stiff and glossy.
• Remove the mixer bowl from the stand and sift the confectioners' sugar over the meringue while simultaneously folding it in.
• Divide the meringue into 8 portions, evenly spaced, on the baking sheet. (They'll all fit if you arrange 3 down each side lengthwise and 2 in the center.)
• Take a spoon, dip it in water, tap off the excess, and make a hollow in the center of each meringue, like mashed potatoes in preparation for gravy.
• Bake the meringues for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and continue to let the meringues dry out in the oven for 1 hour more.
• The meringues are done when they feel dry and lift easily off the parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
• Variations
• Meringue nests lend themselves to many variations. Here are some of my favorites. Simply fold the additional ingredients into the meringue after adding in the confectioners' sugar.
• Cinnamon: 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Coconut: 1/2 cup (40 g) dried shredded coconut, toasted
• Cocoa Nib: 6 tablespoons (60 g) cocoa nibs
• Coffee: 1 tablespoon best-quality instant coffee (crush the crystals into a fine powder with the back of a spoon first) or espresso powder
• Chocolate: 3 tablespoons (21 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• Chocolate Chip: 1/2 cup (80 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (regular or mini)
• Chocolate-Chocolate Chip: 3 tablespoons (21 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder and 1/3 cup (60 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (regular or mini)
• Green Tea and Black Sesame: 1 1/2 teaspoons matcha (green tea powder) and 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• For Almond Meringue Nests: Replace the vanilla with 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, and press 2 tablespoons sliced almonds into the top of each meringue before baking.
• Storage
• Once cool, store the meringues in an absolutely airtight container until ready to serve. They can be made 1 week in advance.