A luxurious combination of white chocolate mousse, raspberry sorbet and crisp, delicate hazelnut macarons. This recipe from Stephen Crane would make the perfect end to an al fresco dinner, and you could make the sorbet ahead to save on time.
For the macarons, whisk the egg whites until they form peaks, then gradually incorporate the sugar to get a firm meringue. Sieve the ground hazelnuts and icing sugar into a bowl
Pour the meringue on the top of the powder and mix from the bottom upwards, with a plastic spatula. Combine until the mix become shiny and elastic but not runny (this happens if you overwork it). Spoon the mixture into a piping bag
3
Pipe the macarons (4—5 cm in diameter) onto greaseproof paper on a baking sheet and leave at room temperature to dry for 15 to 20 minutes (they will form a skin) before cooking
4
Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2, then cook the meringues for 10 minutes. Turn the tray round and cook for another 6 minutes. The macarons must be evenly coloured, soft and chewy inside and crispy on the outside
5
For the white chocolate mousse, put the white chocolate pistoles into a bowl with the soaked and drained gelatine. Bring the cream and vanilla pods to the boil, and then pass the infused cream through a sieve onto the chocolate and the pressed gelatine leaves. Stir together until the chocolate has melted into the cream
To make the sorbet, bring the sugar and water to the boil and then cool down. Mix with the raspberry purée and churn in an ice cream maker until frozen, then keep in a lidded container in the freezer
For the rose opaline, cook the fondant and glucose in a pan until it reaches 155⁰C. Take off the heat, then stir in the rose extract and red colouring. Pour onto greaseproof paper and cool completely before blitzing with in a blender to get a powder
450g of white fondant
300ml of glucose syrup
20 drops of rose extract
4 drops of red food colouring
8
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. With a sieve, sprinkle the powder onto a silicone sheet to cover it and bake for 4 minutes
9
Once cooled, carefully break into shards and set aside until needed
10
Make the coulis just before serving. Simmer 150g of the raspberries with the caster sugar and water until the fruit bursts. Cool, then whizz in a food processor with the rest of the raspberries. Strain and then spoon a small pool onto each serving plate
Take 2 macarons per plate. Position one, curve side down on top of the coulis and spoon a generous helping of the vanilla cream on top. Cover with fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint. Spoon a small amount of the vanilla cream on top, and position the other macaron shell on top, making a sandwich
Quenelle a scoop of the raspberry sorbet and place neatly next to the macaron. Stand a shard of the opaline upright in the sorbet, and serve immediately
As head chef of the idyllic Ockenden Manor in the countryside of Sussex, chef Stephen Crane cooks refined, French-influenced food, and given his pedigree, that’s no great surprise.
