(Tina Rupp)
This is a chewy nut meringue cradling luxurious tart frozen yogurt. Of course you can mix and match flavors to your taste, but you’ll fall in love with the wonderful interplay of these textures.
Cook Time:40 min
Prep Time:1 hours30 min
Total Time:2 hours10 min
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
2 cup (500 g) Greek-style yogurt
1 cup (250 g) crème fraîche
1 cup (240 ml) lemon simple syrup (¾ cup / 180 ml lemon juice and ¾ cup / 150 g sugar simmered together until the sugar is dissolved)
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
zest of 3 lemons
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 cup (140 g) almond flour
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 drops yellow food coloring
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pint (250 g) blackberries
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
Preparation:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, crème fraîche, and lemon simple syrup. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
In a large saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and stir over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the yogurt mixture and stir to combine completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap again and refrigerate until completely cool.
Process the yogurt in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions and freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 275ºF (135°C). Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
Draw six (4-inch / 10-cm) circles, evenly spaced a few inches apart, on each piece ofparchment. Flip the parchment over, so the circles are visible but will not transfer onto the meringue.
Place the almond flour, 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, the cornstarch, and the rosemary in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse just until the ingredients are combined and powdery.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites, almond extract, food coloring, and salt. Whisk on high speed until the egg whites become foamy.
Slowly pour in ¾ cup (150 g) of the sugar and continue whisking until stiff, glossy peaks just begin to form.
Sift the almond flour mixture over the meringue. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold into the meringue until no white streaks remain but the meringue still holds its shape.
Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a medium open tip. Starting in the middle of one of the circles drawn on the parchment, pipe the meringue in a continuous spiral until you reach the edge of the circle. Repeat the piping procedure with the remaining circles.
Place a little dab of leftover meringue under each corner of each piece of parchment paper to secure the paper to the pan.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the meringue is firm to the touch. Do not allow it to brown. Set aside to cool completely, then gently peel off the parchment.
Place 4 blackberries on 6 of the meringue discs on their side.
Allow the frozen yogurt to sit in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to soften a bit.
Scoop about ¼ cup (60 g) of softened frozen yogurt onto the flat side of a meringue and on top of the blackberries. Sandwich with the flat side of a second meringue, pressing gently to adhere but being careful not to break the meringues in the process.
Place the assembled vacherins on a sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes before serving.
To serve, allow the vacherins to thaw ever so slightly, about 10 minutes, and top with a sprig of rosemary.
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