Abricots à la Royale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 10-inch (25 cm) saucepan for poaching
• •Fine-mesh sieve and dampened coffee filters
• •Six deep 4-ounce (120 ml), roughly 2½-inch (6 cm) tartlet moulds
• •Shallow 6-inch (15 cm) dish for the pink jelly
• •Digital instant-read or sugar thermometer
• •Small heavy saucepan and pastry brush
• •Flat 11-inch (28 cm) serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the apricots

   Combine the water, sugar, and split vanilla bean in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil just long enough to dissolve the sugar, then lower the heat until the syrup barely trembles. Slip in the apricot halves in one layer and poach for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until a fine skewer enters with slight resistance. Lift each half out as it becomes ready; apricots rarely keep the same clock. If one begins to soften at the edge, remove the others immediately and let the syrup's remaining heat finish them. Cool the halves on a tray, cover, and refrigerate until thoroughly cold.

2. 2

   Strain for clarity

   Remove the vanilla bean and let the syrup stand undisturbed for 10 minutes so loose fruit pulp settles. Pass it first through a fine-mesh sieve, then through a dampened coffee filter set over a bowl. Never press or squeeze the filter; pressure forces pulp through and clouds the jelly. Measure 2½ cups (600 ml) of clear syrup, dividing 1¾ cups (420 ml) for the Kirsch jelly and ¾ cup (180 ml) for the pink jelly. If the syrup still looks hazy, pass it through fresh damp paper once more. Ça se rattrape.

   Replace a clogged filter instead of stirring it. The few minutes saved by pressing will be displayed in every finished mold.
3. 3

   Build both jellies

   For the Kirsch jelly, place ⅓ cup (80 ml) of its cold syrup in a bowl and sprinkle over the 3½ teaspoons (11 g) gelatin. For the pink jelly, place 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of its cold syrup in a second bowl and sprinkle over the 1½ teaspoons (5 g) gelatin. Leave both for 5 minutes to bloom. Warm the remaining portion of each syrup separately until hot but nowhere near a simmer, then stir it gently into its bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved. Do not whisk. Once barely warm, stir the Kirsch into the larger batch; add the anisette and one restrained drop of coloring to the smaller batch. Pass each through a fine sieve into a pouring jug and skim away any bubbles. From this point, neither jelly may boil. If either starts setting before you pour it, stand the bowl in warm water and stir slowly until fluid again.

4. 4

   Set fruit in molds

   Rinse six deep 4-ounce (120 ml) tartlet moulds with cold water and shake them out without drying or greasing them. Oil would leave a film over the jelly. Arrange two cold apricot halves in each mould, curved sides facing the bottom and slightly overlapping. Spoon in just enough Kirsch jelly to anchor the fruit, then chill for 10 to 15 minutes until tacky. If a half floats, stop and let this first layer set more firmly; then fill the moulds to their rims with the remaining Kirsch jelly. Pour the pink anisette jelly into a shallow 6-inch (15 cm) dish. Refrigerate both jellies until completely firm, at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.

5. 5

   Glaze the Génoise

   Set the completely cooled border prepared from Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) on a flat serving platter. Heat the red-currant jelly in a small heavy saucepan, following The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344), until a digital thermometer reads the small-thread stage, 215°F (102°C). The thermometer replaces the finger test, which belongs nowhere near boiling sugar in a home kitchen. Brush the hot glaze thinly over the top and exposed sides of the Génoise, then immediately sprinkle on the chopped pistachios so they adhere. If the glaze tightens before the border is covered, warm it briefly; if it has cooked too far, stir in the hot water one teaspoon at a time and rewarm only until brushable. Let the glazed border cool completely, then chill it for 20 minutes.

6. 6

   Turn out the crown

   Fill a shallow bowl with warm water, about 105°F (40°C). Dip one tartlet mould to just below its rim for 2 to 3 seconds, wipe the outside dry, and invert it over its intended place on the Génoise border. Repeat, spacing the six apricot jellies evenly into a crown. If a jelly refuses to release, lift the mould and dip it for one more second rather than pulling at the edges. If an edge softens, return the mold to the refrigerator for 10 minutes and try again with cooler water.

7. 7

   Fill and serve

   Turn the firm pink anisette jelly onto a cold board and chop it into small, irregular pieces about ½ inch (1 cm) across. Heap them generously in the centre of the Génoise border, keeping their cut surfaces lively rather than pressing them flat. Refrigerate the assembled Abricots à la Royale until service, but bring it out 5 minutes before cutting so the Kirsch and anisette can speak. Present the crown whole, then cut between the molded jellies so each of the six servings carries one. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose apricots that smell ripe but remain firm at the seam. Very soft fruit collapses in the syrup and clouds it. Out of season, twelve good canned apricot halves in light syrup are an honest answer: drain them cold, warm their packing syrup with the vanilla, strain it, and do not poach the fruit again. The texture will be softer, and the flavor still belongs.
• •Weigh the gelatin. Spoon measures are given for convenience, but brands vary in granule size, and these small molds need a firm set that can stand on the Génoise without turning rubbery.
• •Metal tartlet moulds release faster than thick ceramic ramekins. Do not grease them, and never freeze the jellies to hurry the setting; freezing roughens the clear surface and makes gelatin weep as it thaws.
• •Kirsch and anisette have separate work here. Kirsch sharpens the apricot and cherry-stone aroma, while anisette gives the pink centre its cool licorice note. Add both only after the syrup has cooled below 120°F (50°C), or their perfume disappears into the kitchen.
• •Serve with a lightly sweet sparkling wine or simply coffee. The dessert already carries two spirits and needs no sauce, cream, or decorative clutter.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the shallow border from Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) up to 1 day ahead. Cool it completely and wrap it well at room temperature so it stays tender.
• •The apricots can be poached and chilled in a covered container 1 day ahead. Strain the syrup after lifting out the fruit, then refrigerate it separately.
• •Both jellies may be molded up to 2 days ahead. Cover them only after their surfaces have set, which prevents dripping condensation from marking the jelly.
• •Glaze the Génoise and assemble the crown up to 3 hours before serving. Keep it refrigerated and loosely covered. Longer storage lets moisture work past the glaze and soften the sponge.
• •Do not freeze any part of the assembled dessert.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)