Nougat glacé
A dessert from Provence — a frozen take on the white nougat Montélimar is famous for. It is a light mixture of meringue made with hot honey and whipped cream, with crushed caramelised almonds, pistachios and candied fruit, frozen in a loaf tin and cut into slices. No ice cream machine is needed — the air in the meringue and cream, and the sugar from the honey, make it freeze velvety smooth, without noticeable ice crystals. It is served with raspberry coulis, whose tartness balances the honey's sweetness.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Caramelised nuts 15 min
- Cooling 20 min
- Honey meringue 15 min
- Folding 10 min
- Freezing 360 min
- Raspberry coulis 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the caramelised nuts
Melt the sugar in a dry pan over medium heat until it turns into amber caramel. Stir in the almonds and pistachios and tip straight onto baking paper. Take care — the caramel is about 170°C and burns badly.
Ingredients: 80 g sugar · 60 g blanched almonds · 40 g unsalted pistachios
Amber caramel — straight onto the paper.Cool and crush
Cool the caramelised nuts 20 minutes until hard, then crush them with a rolling pin in a bag into small pieces. Dice the candied fruit into 5 mm pieces.
Ingredients: 80 g sugar · 60 g blanched almonds · 40 g unsalted pistachios
Prepare the tin
Line a 1.2–1.5 litre loaf tin with cling film, leaving an overhang.
Ingredients: 3 pcs egg whites · 100 g lavender or acacia honey · 300 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g candied fruit (orange peel, cherries)
Make the honey meringue
Heat the honey in a small, deep pan (it foams up a lot) to 118–120°C — check with a thermometer. When the honey reaches about 110°C, start whisking the egg whites to stiff peaks. Pour the hot honey in a thin stream down the side of the bowl, whisking constantly — not onto the beaters, as hot drops spatter and burn. Keep whisking 8–10 minutes, until the meringue has cooled to room temperature and is thick and glossy.
Ingredients: 3 pcs egg whites · 100 g lavender or acacia honey · 300 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g candied fruit (orange peel, cherries)
Hot honey into the whites — thick and glossy.Whip the cream
Whip the cold cream to soft peaks — it should hold its shape but not be stiff.
Ingredients: 3 pcs egg whites · 100 g lavender or acacia honey · 300 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g candied fruit (orange peel, cherries)
Fold together
Fold the cream into the meringue in two additions, gently, then the crushed nuts and candied fruit. Spoon into the tin, level it and cover with film.
Ingredients: 3 pcs egg whites · 100 g lavender or acacia honey · 300 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g candied fruit (orange peel, cherries)
Gently — the air is the whole texture.Freeze
Freeze at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Ingredients: 3 pcs egg whites · 100 g lavender or acacia honey · 300 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g candied fruit (orange peel, cherries)
Make the coulis and serve
Blend the raspberries with the icing sugar and push through a sieve. Take the nougat out of the freezer 5 minutes before serving, lift it out of the tin by the film and peel the film off. Slice with a knife dipped in hot water and serve on the raspberry coulis.
Ingredients: 250 g raspberries, fresh or frozen (thawed) · 40 g icing sugar
Before you start
Egg whites
The hot honey heats the whites but there is no guarantee it pasteurises them. If children, pregnant women, older people or anyone with weakened immunity will eat it, use pasteurised egg whites.
Which honey
Lavender honey gives a Provençal aroma, acacia a delicate flavour. Avoid strong honeys, such as buckwheat, which dominate the dessert.
Storage
The nougat keeps 2 weeks in the freezer, tightly wrapped in film. Do not refreeze slices that have thawed. Keep the coulis in the fridge up to 3 days.
