Robert Wemischner

Serves 4.

Botanically related, apricots and almonds make for a delicious combination. Here they are paired in a do-ahead cold souffle. The fruit (no need to peel) is pureed and blended into a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and the nuts are roasted, skins on, and then coated in golden caramel to become a crunchy aromatic topping for the souffle. This is a great do-ahead dessert to end a late spring-early summer dinner and serves as a model for many variations based on the other stone fruits to come along in your farmers’ markets—simply substitute the apricots with red fleshed plums, juicy peaches, bright yellow or white nectarines, all of which also blend beautifully with the crunch and toasty notes of almond praline. The key here, as in all multi-part preparations, is organization. Set up all of the ingredients in advance so that the process of moving from one step to the next is seamless and easy.

Here’s how.

For the pastry cream base:

2 sheets (6 grams, each weighing 3 grams) of gelatin, or 2 tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin

3 ounces (scant 1/2 c.) granulated sugar, divided

3 large eggs (approximately 5 ounces)

1/2 ounce (2 t.)  cornstarch

6 ounces (3/4 c.) whole milk

2 ounces (4 T.) unsalted butter

Few drops of almond extract

10 ounces pitted and pureed apricots (if quality is not good, substitute high quality canned apricots, drained, weighed and then pureed)

4 ounces (1/2 c.) heavy cream

If you wish to serve the souffles with apricot sauce,  puree additional apricots (if quality is not good, substitute high quality canned apricots, drained, weighed and then pureed) to yield approximately 8 ounces, 2 ounces per serving and refrigerate until ready to serve the dessert.  

Prepare 4  2- inch diameter straight sided souffle dishes by wrapping a double layer of heavy duty foil, parchment paper or acetate around each one, sized to extend 1-1/2 inches above the rim of the dish. Tape to secure well. This will act as a collar to contain the souffle mixture. Before serving, the collars are removed, leaving the souffle to appear as if it has “risen” above the tops of the dish. Set aside.

Now place the gelatin sheets into a bowl of ice water to soften slowly. 

(Note: If you wish to use unflavored powdered gelatin, simply sprinkle it over a small amount of cold water and allow it to stand for a few minutes. Then heat this mixture over a hot water bath until it is completely dissolved. Proceed with the recipe as shown, adding the melted gelatin to the hot pastry cream below at the same point where the bloomed gelatin sheets are added.)  

Then make the pastry cream as follows:

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, 1/2 of the sugar and the cornstarch until smooth. Place remaining sugar along with milk into a heavy 2 quart saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil. Watch carefully as it has a tendency to boil over. Once boiled, immediately pour it into the bowl with the egg-sugar-cornstarch mixture, and whisk constantly until smooth. Place this mixture into the saucepan, and over medium heat, cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth. Taste to be sure that the raw cornstarch taste is gone and remove from the heat. Add the butter and almond extract. Remove the now-softened gelatin sheets from the ice water, squeezing out any excess water. Add immediately to the still-hot pastry cream and whisk until dissolved. Press the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean bowl, add the apricot puree, whisking to blend well, and allow to cool to room temperature. Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold it into the apricot-flavored pastry cream.

Using a pastry bag outfitted with a 1/2 inch diameter plain tip, pipe the mixture into the prepared souffle dishes so that it completely fills the space created by the collar. Smooth the tops of the souffle with a spatula or knife to create a flat top surface. Refrigerate until serving. 

Now make the almond praline as follows:

1-1/2 ounces (scant 1/3 cup) whole almonds, roasted in a preheated 350 degree F. oven,  until golden brown and aromatic  

7 ounces (approximately 1 c.) granulated sugar

1-1/2 ounces water

1 T. corn syrup

Place the almonds in a heatproof bowl and set aside.

Make a caramel by cooking the sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan, without stirring, until the mixture is golden color. Immediately pour the caramel over the almond and stir quickly to coat the nuts evenly with the caramel. Pour the mixture onto a silicone mat or lightly buttered sheet pan or other heatproof surface and let cool. When cool, break the caramel into rough 1 inch pieces and process in a food processor until the mixture is a coarse powder. It’s OK to have small pieces of nuts or caramel throughout the mixture. (Note: You will have some extra praline left over after coating the tops of each souffle. Reserve as a great addition to an ice cream sundae, blended into butter as a great topping for  weekend pancakes, or as a sprinkle into your morning yogurt.)

Just before serving, scatter a thin even layer of the praline on the top of each souffle.

Remove the collars and place each souffle on a dessert plate. Serve the souffles with ramekins or small pitchers of apricot puree, as noted above.