The ultimate cake for Ice Cream lovers, with Grand Marnier and Almond flavors.... a real treat
About this recipe
This one is a recipe everybody asks me every year for end of the year celebrations, and though it's easy to make, it's a huge sucess everytime... a recipe really interesting from a return on investment perspective !
It's a typical Xmas dessert, that everybody appreciates after a heavy Xmas dinner, as it is refreshing and festive
The flavors of grand marnier,
A dessert I serve every year for the holidays
Source of the recipe
A recipe by top French Pastry Chef Stéphane Tréand
Origin of the recipe
A delicious Ice Cream with Grand Marnier, covered in Italian Meringue
● The American physicist Benjamin Thompson Rumford discovered the insulating power of egg whites, and called it initially «Omelette Surprise» in 1804.
● Jean Giroix, the French chef at «Hotel de Paris» in Monte-Carlo contributed to make this dessert famous and renamed it «Omelette Norvégienne» in French, better known as «Baked Alaska» in English
● Another theory is that the dessert was brought to France by the master cook of a Chinese mission and disclosed his technique to the French chef Balzac of the Grand Hotel
The Almond Cake, the «Genoa Bread»
1. Start by baking the Genoa Sponge : The recipe is HERE
2. Then cut a rectangle you will use as the "base"
3. If you are using the mold from Silikomart "TOR250X80 GIANDUIA", the rectangle should be 9.84" (or 9 27/32" or 25 cm) (L) and 2.75" (or 2 3/4" or 7 cm) (W)
4. Wrap with plastic wrap and keep aside
The Mold
5. Let's talk about the mold. I am using a perfect mold, as it's made out of Silicon, which allows you to pop out the frozen ice cream easily. Its triangle shape is perfect as well for this recipe
6. The brand of this silicon mold is Silikomart, and the model is "TOR250X80 GIANDUIA". Dimensions: 9.84" (or 9 27/32" or 25 cm) x 3.14" (or 3 5/32" or 8 cm), height: 3.54" (or 3 35/64" or 9 cm) : To purchase online, see HERE
7. If you don't have this particular mold, just use a Yule Log mold, and you can always "cheat" by shaping the dessert into a mountain shape with the meringue
8. I recommend to place plastic wrap inside the mold : this will make the unmolding easier
Grand marnier Ice Cream
9. You will need the Grand Marnier Ice cream
10. The best option that I recommend, is to make the recipe yourself : The recipe is HERE
Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
Cuisinart Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker
With an ice cream from the stores
You may decide to go faster, here's how :
● You may buy an orange ice cream and add grand marnier
● Or you may choose to buy an ice cream with a different flavor
Assembling
11. ● If you want to realise the Grand Marnier Ice cream (3 ¼ Cups or 1 kg) yourself, that's probably the best option. You will need to make the ice cream, churn it and then use it right away after churning
12. ● If you want to go fast, you may buy a quality ice cream in a good store. Out of the freezer, it may be too hard, so you will need to soften it in the fridge a few hours
13. You will need 3 ¼ Cups or 1 kg of ice cream
14. Pour the Grand Marnier Ice cream (3 ¼ Cups or 1 kg) inside the mold
15. Place and gently push down the Genoa Sponge (that you had cut to dimensions)
16. Make sure to push the cake into the mold
17. Transfer the mold in the freezer and wait at least 6 hours !
Unmolding
18. 6 hours later, unmold the dessert
19. Take off the plastic wrap
20. Transfer the dessert to a plate, the same you will use to serve
21. Place the plated dessert into the freezer
The Italian Meringue
22. You will need the Italian Meringue (3 ⅔ Cups or 600 g) : The recipe is HERE
23. Once realized, do not stop the whisk ! The meringue would "flatten"
KitchenAid 7-Quart Stand Mixer
Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer
Hand Mixer
24. Fill a Pastry Bag fitted with the large star tip, with the meringue
25. We need a Pastry Bag and a decorating tip. We will need to use a decorating tip called a "star tip" like this one. The tip must be pretty large to make nice and big lines
Matfer Bourgeat Pastry Bags
French Star Pastry Tips Set, Stainless Steel
26. Push and squeeze the Pastry Bag inside the tip firmly to avoid the batter to go out the Pastry Bag while you are transferring your batter
Last steps...
27. Pipe the meringue onto the ice cream in a decorative fashion, making big vertical lines, from the bottom to the top
28. Let's now finish piping some meringue on the top...
29. Inspect your beauty, and make sure to not leave any "hole" behind
Blowtorch
30. Let's brown (light burn) the meringue with a blowtorch
31. To decorate, you may use Candied Orange Peels. I also decorate with disks made with Dark Chocolate
32. For a Xmas dinner, you may sprinkle with Edible Gold dust
33. BE CAREFUL ! Make sure that the Gold Powder is edible : This must read specifically on the label. Some Gold Powders are toxic and not edible
34. Keep in freezer until you serve the dessert
Suggestions to improve this recipe...
I also tried other flavors like chocolate and cherry ice creams, which was delightful as well!
When ready to serve : Old school pastry chefs use to pour hot grand marnier and flambé' the dessert : I do not recommend it, as it's a bit dangerous and also too old school, in my opinion