Poires à la Reine Emma

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Smooth 4-cup (1-litre) ring or savarin mould
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •2-quart (2-litre) heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Electric mixer or sturdy balloon whisk
• •Piping bag with medium star tip

Instructions

1. 1

   Decorate the mould

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Butter a smooth 4-cup (1-litre) ring or savarin mould generously, reaching into every curve. Press the candied fruit into the butter in a simple, even pattern around the base and sides. Set the mould in a deep roasting pan lined with a folded kitchen towel, which keeps it steady in the bain-marie.

2. 2

   Cook the flamri

   Bring the milk, salt, and half the flamri sugar just to a simmer. Rain in the semolina while whisking, then cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the grains are tender and the mixture pulls heavily from the pan. Take it off the heat, beat in the butter, then add the egg yolks one at a time. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, add the remaining sugar gradually, and continue to glossy medium peaks. Fold them through the warm semolina in three additions, keeping as much air as you can.

3. 3

   Poach without boiling

   Spoon the flamri carefully into the decorated mould and smooth the surface without scraping away the fruit. Pour hot, not fiercely boiling, water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the mould. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the border is set at the edges and trembles slightly when nudged. The water must remain quiet. If it begins bubbling hard, lift out the pan, replace a little water with cool water, and lower the oven by 25°F (15°C); caught promptly, the custard will finish smoothly. Cool in the mould for 30 minutes, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours.

   A skewer inserted into the thickest part should emerge moist but without liquid custard. Baking until it comes out dry gives a rubbery border.
4. 4

   Poach the pears

   Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla seeds, and vanilla pod in a saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar, then reduce to a bare simmer and add the pear quarters. Cover them with a round of parchment and poach for 12 to 18 minutes, turning once, until a small knife enters with slight resistance. If the pears soften faster than expected, lift them out immediately, cool the syrup over an ice bath, then return the fruit to it. Cool and chill the pears in their syrup.

5. 5

   Make crème frangipane

   Heat the milk until small bubbles gather at the rim. Whisk the egg yolk with the sugar, flour, and almond flour until smooth, then pour in the hot milk gradually while whisking. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling; keep it there for 1 minute to cook the flour. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter. If the cream forms lumps, whisk it hard off the heat and pass it through a fine sieve while warm. Ça se rattrape. Spread it in a shallow dish, cover its surface directly, and chill completely.

6. 6

   Finish apricot sauce

   Warm the apricot preserves with the reserved pear syrup until fluid, then pass the mixture through a fine sieve. If it runs like water, simmer it briefly before adding the Kirsch; if it is too thick to pour, loosen it with another spoonful of pear syrup. Cool, then stir in the Kirsch and lemon juice. Cover and hold the sauce separately.

7. 7

   Whip the Chantilly

   Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cold cream. Whip the rest with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until it holds very firm, clean peaks, stopping before the surface turns grainy. If it begins to roughen, fold in the reserved unwhipped cream by hand until smooth. Measure 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) for the pear coating and transfer the remainder to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip.

8. 8

   Turn out the border

   Dip a thin knife in hot water and loosen only the inner and outer rims of the flamri. Lay a warm, damp towel around the mould for 5 seconds, place a round serving dish over it, and invert both together. If it does not release, repeat the warm towel once. Do not pry at the custard, which will tear before it agrees to be hurried.

9. 9

   Build the pear centre

   Drain the pear quarters thoroughly and blot their surfaces; wet fruit makes the coating slide. Arrange them inside the flamri border in an overlapping pyramid. Measure 3/4 cup (180 ml) of cold crème frangipane and stir in the 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of macaroon crumbs, exactly one quarter of its volume. Fold in the measured 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) of Chantilly, exactly twice the frangipane's volume. Spoon this mixture over the pear quarters, masking them while preserving the shape of the pyramid. If the coating slumps, chill the bowl for 10 minutes rather than adding more crumbs.

   Measure the frangipane after chilling and the Chantilly after whipping. The source ratio is by finished volume, not by the starting weights of cream and almonds.
10. 10

    Pipe and serve

    Pipe the remaining Chantilly over the top of the pear pyramid in generous shells or rosettes. Chill the assembled dish for 30 minutes so the coating settles, then let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Bring the kirsch-apricot sauce to the table in a small sauceboat and spoon it beside each portion, never over the decorated border in advance. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use firm-ripe Bosc pears. They keep their quarters through poaching and still become tender; a soft pear collapses before the vanilla syrup reaches its centre.
• •Dry almond macaroons means crisp almond biscuits, not coconut macaroons and not filled macarons. Their crumbs give the frangipane a toasted almond backbone without turning the coating heavy.
• •A smooth savarin mould is the honest home equivalent of the even border mould. Avoid a deeply fluted Bundt pan, whose narrow ridges catch the candied fruit and make the tender flamri difficult to release.
• •The kirsch-apricot sauce should pour in a glossy ribbon. Serve it separately as the entry directs, so each guest gets bright fruit and cherry spirit without hiding the candied decoration.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach and chill the flamri a day ahead, keeping it covered in its mould. Turn it out only after it is thoroughly cold.
• •The pears may be poached a day ahead and refrigerated in their syrup. The crème frangipane and kirsch-apricot sauce also keep overnight in separate covered containers.
• •Whip the Chantilly and assemble the dish up to 3 hours before serving. Do not assemble it overnight, because the pears release moisture and the macaroon crumbs lose their useful texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)