Paolo Casagrande’s almond and salt praline, caramel, apricot and rum ice-cream dessert

Ingredients
For the creamy caramel:

• 300g milk
• 300g cream
• 90g dark muscovado sugar
• 120g pasteurized yolk
• 430g Dulcey chocolate valrhona
• 3 gelatin sheets

For the almond and miso praline:

• 200g toasted almond paste
• 200g syrup (50%)
• 35g mineral water
• 60g Hakari miso
• 1.2g xantana

For the rum and vanilla ice-cream:

• 500g milk
• 165g cream
• 120g white sugar
• 150g pasteurized yolk
• 25g glucose
• 40g dextrose
• 75g rum
• 1 burbon vanilla pod

For the frozen rum powder:

• 300g cream
• 40g dark rum
• 34g sugar
• 2 gas charges

For the burnt white chocolate:

• 200g white chocolate

For the apricot crunchy:

• 200g apricot puree
• 30g sugar
• 35g isomalt
• 7g glucose powder

For the apricot sauce:

• 250g apricot puree
• 5g passionfruit puree
• 5g lime juice

Method

For the creamy caramel:

1. Mix the yolks with the sugar.
2. Hydrate the gelatin sheets in water.
3. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a pan, and then add the yolk and sugar mixture.
4. Cook the English cream mixture until it reaches 84°C, and then remive it from the heat.
5. Add the hydrated gelatin sheets to the English Cream mixture, mixing until combined.
6. Pour some of the English cream through a fine sieve over the semi-melted chocolate.
7.  Emulsify, and continue to pour in the English cream through a fine sieve.
8. Finish emulsifying the mixture with a hand blender.
9. Place cling film over the mixture so that it is contact with the top of the caramel to prevent a skin from forming on top and keep it in the fridge until required.

For the almond and miso praline:

1. Combine all the ingredients together.
2. Using a hand blender, emulsify the mixture.
3. Cover and keep in the fridge until required.

For the rum and vanilla ice-cream:

1. Heat up the milk, cream and vanilla pod until it begins to boil, and allow to boil for 1 minute, then remove it from the heat.
2. Cover the cream mixture and set aside to infuse for at least 30 minutes.
3. Mix the yolks with the sugars, and add it to the infused liquids.
4. Cook the English sauce until it thickens, and then remove from the heat and strain into a bowl set over an ice bath.
5. Cool the mixture quickly in the ice bath, and then leave it to rest.
6. Add the rum, and then place it in the fridge.
7. When required, turbinate the ice-cream mixture with an ice-cream machine.

For the frozen rum and powder:

1. Mix the ingredients and then strain.
2. Pour the strained mixture into the siphon, charging it twice.
3. Empty the foam into a bowl, and then using two spoons, pass it into liquid nitrogen, then break with a whisk and when it has frozen completely, remove and place in the freezer until required.

For the burnt white chocolate:

1. Chop up the chocolate and spread it over a silpat.
2. Place the silpat onto a baking tray, and place into the oven at 130°C until it has caramalised.
3. This process can also be completed stepwise in a microwave.
4. Once the chocolate has caramelized, cool it down and cut it into cubes.

For the apricot crunchy:

1. Place all the ingredients into a vacuum bag and seal, then leave the mixture to rest for a few hours.
2. Stretch out the rested dough onto a silpat, and then place it on a baking tray in the oven at 110°C for 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and then mark the apricot crispy with the chosen shape, and place back into the oven to bake for a further 45 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, ensuring that the desired shape has been carved out.
5. Allow to cool and then place in a sealed container for storage.

For the apricot sauce:

1. Blend all the ingredients together to create a smooth sauce.
2. Place sauce in a sealed container and keep in the fridge until it is needed.

Plating 

To serve each plate:

1. On the right hand side of the plate, draw a spiral of caramel cream, and on its left, place the almond praline.
2. Using a squeeze bottle, draw a circle of apricot sauce around the cream.
3. Between the points at which the caramel cream and apricot sauce come into contact, place some burnt white chocolate.
4. Decorate with 3 flowers of Agastache and then place an ice-cream quenelle over a little bit of frozen rum powder.
5. Finish off the dish with the apricot crispy.

Recipe courtesy of Paolo Casagrande at Lasarte. 

Paolo Casagrande Chef Feature