Pêches à l’Aurore

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small blender or food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
• •Small heavy saucepan and digital thermometer
• •Heatproof mixing bowl with a saucepan for the bain-marie
• •1½-quart (1.4-liter) shallow stainless-steel serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Purée the strawberries

   Blend the strawberries with the ¼ cup (60 ml / 50 g) sugar until completely liquid, then press the purée through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Chill it while you make the meringue. Straining is a small piece of discipline that matters here: frozen preparations magnify every seed and coarse fiber.

   Taste the purée cold. It should seem slightly sweeter than you want at the table because freezing will mute both its sweetness and perfume.
2. 2

   Make Italian meringue

   Put the ½ cup (120 ml / 100 g) sugar and 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) water in a small saucepan. Warm gently until the sugar dissolves, then boil without stirring. When the syrup reaches 230°F (110°C), begin beating the egg whites to soft peaks. At 244°F (118°C), stream the syrup slowly down the inside of the mixing bowl while beating, keeping it away from the moving beaters. Continue until the meringue is glossy, firm, and no longer warm. If the syrup crystallizes before reaching temperature, take it off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of water, and dissolve the crystals gently before continuing.

3. 3

   Freeze the mousse

   Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cold cream, then whip the remainder only to soft peaks. Fold one-third of the strawberry purée into the meringue to loosen it, fold in the rest, then fold in the cream with broad strokes until no white streaks remain. If the cream has gone grainy from overbeating, fold in the reserved liquid cream before combining it with the mousse. Spread the iced mousse with strawberries in a 1½-quart (1.4-liter) shallow stainless-steel serving bowl, making an even layer about 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. Freeze until firm but still spoonable, at least 4 hours.

4. 4

   Poach the peaches

   Bring the 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) water and 1 cup (240 ml / 200 g) sugar to a simmer, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Halve the peaches along their seams, remove the stones, and peel them thinly with a paring knife. Add half the Kirsch to the syrup, lower in the peaches, and poach at the barest tremble for 5 to 10 minutes, turning once, until a knife enters with slight resistance and the halves still hold their shape. Lift out any peach that softens early. Take the pan from the heat, add the remaining Kirsch, and cool the fruit in its syrup before chilling it for at least 2 hours.

   If every peach begins softening too quickly, drain them at once and cool the syrup separately. Return the fruit only after the syrup is cold, so it takes the Kirsch perfume without cooking further.
5. 5

   Arrange the peaches

   Reserve 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the cold poaching syrup for the sabayon. Drain the peach halves for 10 minutes and blot their cut faces lightly, since excess syrup would make the mousse slide. Arrange all eight halves cut-side down on the frozen strawberry mousse, nestled closely but not pressed into it. Return the bowl to the freezer for 10 minutes while you prepare the bain-marie.

6. 6

   Whisk the sabayon

   Bring 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water to a bare simmer in a saucepan. In a heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks, ¼ cup (60 ml / 50 g) sugar, reserved poaching syrup, and Curaçao until smooth. Set the bowl over the saucepan without allowing its base to touch the water, then whisk constantly for 6 to 8 minutes. The sabayon is ready when it has tripled in volume, reached 160°F (71°C), and falls from the whisk in a thick ribbon that remains visible for several seconds. If cooked yolk appears around the edge, lift the bowl off the heat immediately and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cold poaching syrup, then strain into a clean bowl and continue over gentler water if necessary. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Coat and serve

   Bring the chilled serving bowl directly to the table and pour the sabayon from the center outward, coating the peaches and allowing a little to settle over the exposed mousse. Serve immediately, while the sauce is still light and the mousse remains firmly cold beneath it. The contrast is the dish, so this is no moment to park it on a sideboard. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose peaches that smell fragrant at the stem but remain firm enough to peel and poach. Soft fruit collapses in the syrup. This dish genuinely needs good peaches; canned halves make a pleasant winter cousin, but they do not absorb the Kirsch syrup in the same way.
• •Frozen strawberries picked ripe are better for the mousse than tired fresh ones. Thaw them, drain away loose liquid, and weigh the required 250 g before puréeing.
• •Use amber or clear orange Curaçao, not a blue-colored bottle. The liqueur should give the sabayon orange-peel perfume and a restrained golden tint, not turn dawn into a carnival.
• •The sabayon cannot be held. Have the peaches arranged, the plates waiting, and the guests seated before the yolks meet the bain-marie.
• •A small glass of demi-sec Champagne suits the fruit and orange without competing with the Kirsch. Keep the pour modest, since the dessert already carries two liqueurs.

Advance Preparation

• •The iced mousse with strawberries can be made up to 2 days ahead. Once firm, cover the surface closely and keep it frozen so it does not collect ice crystals or freezer aromas.
• •The peaches can be poached 1 day ahead and refrigerated in their Kirsch syrup. Drain them only shortly before assembling the dish.
• •Arrange the peaches no more than 15 minutes before serving. Make the Curaçao sabayon only when everyone is ready for dessert; it loses volume and begins melting the mousse if held.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)