Chef Juliette
Various Almond Preparations
Five almond preparations, one discipline: remove the skins cleanly, dry every kernel through, then cut, toast, or cloak it in pale caramel without letting its fragrant oils escape.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Ananas à la Ninon
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2670, Ananas à la Ninon, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A cold Parisian showpiece made practical: vanilla ice swept into an oblique lining, two rows of pineapple, and a heart of wild strawberries under bright raspberry purée and pistachios.
Desserts
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Celebration
40 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
YieldOne 1½-quart (1.4-liter) timbale, 6 servings
Ananas à la Ninon (pineapple with vanilla ice cream, wild strawberries, and raspberry purée) teaches the first law of cold assembly: cold is structure. Before you touch the soufflé timbale, chill it thoroughly and dry every piece of fruit. The vanilla lining must support the pineapple, not melt beneath it.
The source assumed a pâtissier, house-made vanilla ice held at precisely the right softness, a chilled metal timbale, and enough hands to prepare fruit while another cook laid the frozen lining. At home, a straight-sided 1½-quart soufflé dish, a frozen sheet pan, and excellent purchased vanilla ice cream perform the same honest work. I have scaled the composition to six servings and removed the brigade scaffolding of churning and extra hands. The oblique lining, projecting pineapple rows, strawberry pyramid, raspberry purée, and pistachios remain, because they are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening, with the stove enjoying the night off.
When it is right, pale vanilla ice rises toward the rim beneath overlapping gold pineapple, while tiny red strawberries stand in the center under a sharp crimson purée. Work quickly, but don't panic. The step that decides Ananas à la Ninon is shaping the oblique vanilla lining and freezing it firm before the fruit touches it.
Ananas à la Ninon belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen repertory of cold entremets, where molded ices and precisely cut fruit closed formal meals. Its name invokes Ninon de l'Enclos, the Parisian salonnière whose name entered the canon in the honorific fashion used for elegant preparations; this is a named composition, not a regional pineapple custom. What traveled to private tables was its architecture: vanilla ice as a sloping support, pineapple set in projecting rows, and soft berries held at the center under purée.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
vanilla ice cream made with real cream
Quantity
2½ cups (600 ml / 420 g)
softened only until spreadable
fresh pineapple
Quantity
3 cups (720 ml / 450 g)
cut into ⅛-inch (3 mm) flexible half-rings and blotted dry
fresh wild or alpine strawberries (fraises des bois)
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 300 g)
chilled
fresh or frozen raspberries
Quantity
2½ cups (600 ml / 300 g)
thawed if frozen, puréed and strained to yield about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
shelled unsalted pistachios
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 18 g)
finely chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| vanilla ice cream made with real creamsoftened only until spreadable | 2½ cups (600 ml / 420 g) |
| fresh pineapplecut into ⅛-inch (3 mm) flexible half-rings and blotted dry | 3 cups (720 ml / 450 g) |
| fresh wild or alpine strawberries (fraises des bois)chilled | 2 cups (480 ml / 300 g) |
| fresh or frozen raspberriesthawed if frozen, puréed and strained to yield about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) | 2½ cups (600 ml / 300 g) |
| shelled unsalted pistachiosfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 18 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •1½-quart (1.4-liter) straight-sided metal soufflé timbale or deep soufflé dish
- •Small offset spatula
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Rimmed sheet pan
- •Sharp slicing knife and small round cutter for the pineapple cores
Instructions
- 1
Build the cold station
Place a straight-sided 1½-quart soufflé timbale, a rimmed sheet pan, and a small offset spatula in the freezer for 30 minutes. Chill the serving plates if space permits. Keep the vanilla ice cream frozen for now; it should soften under your control, not while the other ingredients wait.
A metal timbale firms the lining fastest, but a deep straight-sided porcelain soufflé dish works well once thoroughly chilled. - 2
Make the raspberry purée
Purée the raspberries until completely smooth, then press them through a fine sieve to remove every seed. Chill the purée in a shallow covered container. Do not sweeten it; the vanilla ice cream and pineapple carry the sweetness, while the raspberry must remain bright. If thawed berries have released a pool of clear liquid, drain that liquid before puréeing so the finished purée coats the strawberries instead of running through them.
- 3
Prepare the fruit
Slice the peeled pineapple crosswise into very thin rounds, remove the hard cores, and cut the rounds into half-rings. They should bend without cracking. Blot each slice thoroughly between clean towels, then chill them in a single layer. Examine the fraises des bois, removing hulls only where necessary, and keep the berries whole and cold. Dry fruit matters here: surface juice makes the frozen lining slick.
- 4
Shape the vanilla lining
Let the vanilla ice cream stand just until a spatula can move through it, about 5 to 8 minutes. Set the frozen timbale on the frozen sheet pan, then spread the ice cream into a continuous oblique bed, thick against the inner rim and sloping down toward the center of the bottom. Turn the timbale as you work so the incline remains even. This slope is the principle inside the method: it supports the pineapple rows while leaving the center ready for the berries. If the ice cream tears, wait 2 minutes; if it shines, slides, or puddles, stop. Ça se rattrape: return the timbale, tray, and ice cream to the freezer for 8 minutes, then patch and continue. Freeze the completed lining for 20 minutes, until firm to a light touch.
- 5
Lay the pineapple rows
Arrange the pineapple half-rings over the frozen incline in two or three overlapping concentric rows, beginning near the lower center and working upward. Shingle each piece slightly over the last, and set the uppermost row so its curved edges project ½ to ¾ inch (1 to 2 cm) beyond the timbale rim, exactly as the composition requires. Press only enough to secure the fruit. If the lining begins to soften while you work, return the whole dish to the freezer for 5 to 8 minutes before continuing.
- 6
Crown and serve
Build the chilled fraises des bois into a generous pyramid at the center of the timbale. Spoon the cold raspberry purée over the berries until they are coated in crimson but still hold their shape, then scatter the chopped pistachios evenly over the purée. Carry Ananas à la Ninon straight to the table and serve onto chilled plates. The finished fruit should remain tender, never frozen hard. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose a dense vanilla ice cream made with real cream, without ribbons, cookies, or caramel. Airy ice cream melts quickly and gives the pineapple a weak foundation; a close-textured vanilla ice holds the oblique lining cleanly.
- •Fraises des bois give the center its perfume, and this part of the dish truly belongs to their season. If they cannot be found, use the smallest, ripest cultivated strawberries and halve only the larger ones. The fragrance will be gentler, but the composition remains honest. Frozen strawberries collapse here and won't do.
- •If fresh pineapple is tired or sour, the classical pantry has the answer: use 3 cups (720 ml / 450 g) good canned pineapple rings packed in juice. Drain them for 30 minutes, halve them, and blot them very dry before assembly.
- •A demi-sec Champagne suits the pineapple and raspberry better than a very dry bottle. Serve a small glass, well chilled; the dessert already provides all the ceremony required.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the raspberry purée up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Stir it gently before serving, without whipping air into it.
- •Shape the vanilla lining up to 4 hours ahead. Once firm, cover the timbale without touching the surface and keep it frozen.
- •Slice and dry the pineapple up to 2 hours ahead, then refrigerate it in a single layer between clean towels. Prepare the fraises des bois at the same time and keep them separately chilled.
- •Add the pineapple, strawberry pyramid, raspberry purée, and pistachios shortly before serving. A completed Ananas à la Ninon does not improve by waiting, and refreezing spoils the texture of the berries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 240g)
Calories
235 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
31 mg
Sodium
60 mg
Total Carbohydrates
35 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
27 g
Protein
4 g
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