Name: Plombières Ice Cream (No-Churn Candied Fruit)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 12 Servings
Ingredients: 200 g (7oz) mix of candied fruits, roughly chopped; 55 ml (2oz) Kirsch liqueur; 1.5 l (48 fl oz) whipping cream; 250 ml (8 fl oz) whole milk; 10 egg yolks; 200 g (7oz) sugar; 1 tsp almond extract; 250 g (8oz) apricot jam

Macarons at the Club House with Speciality Teas

October 21, 2012/39 Comments/in Blog, Bonus Macarons /by Jill Colonna

It has been over three years since I hit a golf ball. Blame it on back problems but now I’ve no excuse. As a Scot it should be in my blood but truth be told, I couldn’t even remember how to hold a club! So, this month I went looking for Eric, my patient golf teacher extraordinaire at the Ile Fleury Club. It’s a wonderfully friendly place that boasts a 9-hole course with the prettiest views on the Ile des Impressionists in Chatou, west of Paris, on the River Seine.

I must have driven Eric insane; ‘in-Seine’, more like. As the course is on an island, I’ve whacked so many balls in the River Seine that I’m sure its level rises when I’m around. Dangerous practise, indeed.

Indeed Mr. Bond. Pierce Brosnan was here recently filming his upcoming romantic movie, Love is All You Need. My good friend, Emmanuelle, confirmed what a gentleman he is – even if he did refuse to drink her coke. My friends at the club also had their photo taken with him. I’m trying not to sound jealous but humph! ‘Pierce is all I need’ to discuss golf tactics, movies and macarons, peut-être.

Mamma Mia! Golf is starting to play in my mind. Are the colour of these lemon meringue macarons from the book fluorescent enough? My golf balls need to be bright in Autumn since I can never find them hidden under the leaves!

Why do my pink golf balls hide in the rough?

What about hitting goûter time or Quatre Heures at the 10th hole club house with some macarons? Ideally with speciality ‘tees’; of course.

macarons and different tees

And if you haven’t got the macaron book yet (update: there’s a new one, Teatime in Paris, with a chapter on macarons and the rest around easy patisserie recipes plus a walk around Paris thrown in!), you’ll be glad to know that speciality teas are suggested with each macaron flavour. Oo-long shot for a 7 iron! Get it?

Macarons and tea, Meester Bond?

Come back to the golf course, Pierce. You forgot your macarons at the club house! And there’s no need to do the course on macarons – it’s all mentioned clearly in the book.

Are you ready to hit goûter time with tea and macarons?

A Fruity Weekend at the King’s Vegetable Garden in Versailles

October 11, 2012/25 Comments/in Blog, My France, Paris, Versailles and Outskirts /by Jill Colonna

I lost the plot this weekend. Blame it on the persisting torrents of rain. So when the skies suddenly cleared on Sunday, my daughter and I escaped to the King’s Vegetable Garden (Potager du Roi) in Versailles.

Their gates have been open to the public since 1991 but this October weekend was a special Saveurs du Potager, an annual culinary festival to showcase the diversity of the 300-or-so varieties of fruits and vegetables that are grown here.

Classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 30 tons of fruit and 20 tons of vegetables are produced each year at the Potager du Roi, thanks to the horticultural school’s students next door. While Le Notre was responsible for the gardens at Versailles, Jean-Baptiste La Quintinie was responsible for building the potager-fruitier over five years (1678-1683) and ensuring the best quality fruit and vegetables on the royal table. La Quintinie’s statue surveys the daily pickings plus the continuation of experiments and new gardening techniques.

Louis XIV was so proud of this garden that he loved to bring visitors such as the Doge of Venice on a tour here, passing the exotic Orangerie en route. The King could show off his own pruning techniques and explain how his talented gardener managed to ensure that asparagus or strawberries could arrive 3 weeks before season by using different manures.

My eye was drawn to the aromatic part of the garden since I love decorating dishes with edible flowers. Bourrache or borage is popular here but I can tell you – I made a mistake the other day, decorating a chocolate mousse with one of these flowers. Tasting one of these flowers was like eating a light fishy cucumber. Not quite the best chocolate partner. I would suggest adding borage flowers to savoury fish dishes!

Nasturtiums were growing in all their glory. Claude Monet adored eating them in peppery salads from his garden at Giverny. Personally on a cool, October day I was craving these beautiful parsnip plants for a comforting parsnip, round carrot and coriander soup. With a mini curry mad mac… Speaking of spice, ginger plants were also proudly on show in the gardens.

edible flowers King's Vegetable garden Versailles

Nasturtiums, parsnips and a parsnip and Parisian carrot soup & mac

As Lucie and I were completely lost just trying to find the stand to buy produce from the garden, we literally stumbled into the most amazing man-made grotto. Lucie being the adventurer, ran up some crooked, mossy steps and discovered a secret passage below a rickety bridge linking up to a round outlook tower. As we gingerly descended into the creepy darkness below, this enormous grotto was waiting to surprise us. Just as well we didn’t come in the other way: that middle photo is a whopping great hole that we luckily missed on the roof!

Inside the long-corridored building, various gardening clubs were showing visitors how to create compost, how to create a shelter for ladybirds, make your own apple juice using a press plus how to construct a ‘hotel’ for insects.

I even discovered that Alkekenge is the real name for physalis cages d’amour (love cages – trust the French to be so romantic) that are taking over our garden. Hm. Shall we just stick with love cages? Grrrrr. Much that I love the name, ‘Reine des Reinettes’, they’re not my favourite apples since they’re far too sweet. Floury apples don’t do it for me. Call me boring, but comfort me with Pink Lady or Braeburns any day. Beurré Hardy, on the other hand, is one of my favourite pear varieties. So good you just eat them on their own but if you want to make a gluten free dessert, then why not try some chocolate macarons with poached coffee-vanilla pears?

The theme of culinary demonstrations for the afternoon was Italian cooking. Lucie and I watched Venetian cookbook author, Adriana Cardin, in admiration as she managed to show us how to make pasta in front of such a fidgety, noisy audience. OK, so she said to make pasta by hand and forget your pasta machine. What more do you want? She gave us all tastings of homemade (albeit thicker than I’m used to) pasta triangles with her cavroman sauce. Did you know that poor man’s tortellini has no filling? I also didn’t realise that the famous Italian ’00’ flour, difficult to find in Paris, is simply “Farine Type 55”. When I think I carted flour in my suitcase back from our last Italian holiday. Duh.

The last room for us to visit was les épluchures or peelings. Can you see these peeling-inspired chapeaux hats taking off?

Instead the red onion peelings inspired me to make a caramelised red onion tarte tatin, accompanied with a perfectly mineral Sauvignon blanc wine from the Loire Valley to bring out the honey flavours – a simple yet delicious feast to finish off the royal weekend.

Potager du Roi (King’s Vegetable Garden)
10 Rue du Maréchal Joffre
78000 Versailles

January – March: Tues & Thurs 10am-6pm
April-October: Tues-Sun 10am-6pm
du mardi au dimanche de 10h à 18h
November-December: Tues & Thurs 10am-6pm; Sat 10am-1pm

Plombières Ice Cream: No-Churn Candied Fruit Dessert

October 2, 2012/25 Comments/in Desserts, Desserts, Egg Yolk Recipes, Gluten free, Gluten free, Recipes, Teatime-Goûter, Teatime-Goûter, ten yolks /by Jill Colonna

I’d promised the children a taste of the best ice creams in Paris during the summer holidays.

Straight after our UK Roman trip, however, the unusually dismal July temperatures meant replacing ice cream with homemade vanilla macarons. But as soon as that ball o’ fire returned, it was destination Berthillon on Ile Saint-Louis.

Berthillon is a Parisian institution. So much so that, come August – finally in the wonderful heat of the City of Light – their doors were… closed; shut; fermé; on holidays; en vacances, like most of Paris. Luckily, their ice creams and sorbets were being served by their more commercial neighbours. One of the tempting ice creams on Berthillon’s list was Plombières ice cream, packed with candied fruits.

As my lucky French parents-in-law live in the Luberon near Apt, the world capital of candied fruits, I’ve an excuse to use Mother-in-Law’s generous bulk supply from the local Candied Fruit factory: candied (crystallised) orange peel strips, lemon peel cubes, glacé cherries and – my favourite – their candied ginger.

So instead of hanging around Ile Saint-Louis for Berthillon to reopen, it was easier to make Plombières ice cream at home. Reaching for my favourite French coffee-table cookbook, France: the Beautiful Cookbook by Gilles Pudlowski with recipes from the Scotto sisters, that was it. Perfect.

Ten egg yolks? Fabulous: whites for macarons.
Serve with apricot jam? Ideal: I’d just made a batch of apricot and lavender jam.
En plus, the recipe didn’t even require an ice cream maker – it’s no churn!

So I ‘ad-Apt-ed’ it, making individual portions for dessert rather than one giant ice cream. This will make a light, fruity, stress-free dessert – and even a handy dessert recipe to have on your Christmas menu.

Plombières Ice Cream Recipe

In 1858 Napoleon III met Count Cavour (Prime Minister of Sardinia) at Plombières-les-Bains in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. As they were secretly negotiating the Treaty of Plombières, the local chef came up this dessert and has been a local speciality ever since.

Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Soaking Time: 2 hours
Freezing Time: At least 2 hours

200g (7 oz) mix of candied/glacé fruits, roughly chopped
55ml (2 oz) Kirsch
1.5 l (48 fl oz) whipping cream
250ml (8 fl oz) whole milk
10 egg yolks
200g (7 oz) sugar
1 tsp almond extract
250g (8 oz) apricot jam

Soak the candied fruits in the Kirsch for a couple of hours. Place a bowl in the fridge in preparation for whipping the cream.
Whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar in a large saucepan until pale and creamy. Gradually whisk in 1 litre of the cream and the milk over a moderate heat. Whisk constantly until the custard coats the spoon.
Remove from the heat, add the almond extract and candied fruits with the Kirsch. Leave to cool, stirring from time to time.
When the custard is completely cooled, whip the remaining 500ml of cream in the chilled bowl until it forms soft peaks.
Fold into the custard then pour into silicone moulds. (Here, I used 12 briochette moulds.) Freeze until firm.
When ready to serve, gently heat the jam in a small saucepan. I If you prefer it smooth, strain the bits.Turn out the ice creams directly on to dessert plates. The beauty of silicone moulds is that you don’t have to run it under warm water first. See? An easy, handy dessert to have up your sleeve.

And don’t forget you can freeze your macarons too – just defrost before serving and voilà!

Plombieres ice cream with candied fruits

Plombières Ice Cream (No-Churn Candied Fruit)

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Freezing Time:

2 hrs

Total Time

45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: ice cream, plombieres, candied fruit recipe, no-churn ice cream, kirsch,

Servings: 12 Servings

Author: Jill Colonna

Ingredients

200 g (7oz) mix of candied fruits, roughly chopped
55 ml (2oz) Kirsch liqueur
1.5 l (48 fl oz) whipping cream
250 ml (8 fl oz) whole milk
10 egg yolks
200 g (7oz) sugar
1 tsp almond extract
250 g (8oz) apricot jam

Instructions

Soak the candied fruits in the Kirsch for a couple of hours. Place a bowl in the fridge in preparation for whipping the cream.
Whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar in a large saucepan until pale and creamy. Gradually whisk in 1 litre of the cream and the milk over a moderate heat. Whisk constantly until the custard coats the spoon.
Remove from the heat, add the almond extract and candied fruits with the Kirsch. Leave to cool, stirring from time to time.
When the custard is completely cooled, whip the remaining 500ml of cream in the chilled bowl until it forms soft peaks.
Fold into the custard then pour into silicone moulds. (Here, I used 12 briochette moulds.) Freeze until firm.
When ready to serve, gently heat the jam in a small saucepan. I If you prefer it smooth, strain the bits.Turn out the ice creams directly on to dessert plates.

Recipe Notes

The beauty of silicone moulds is that you don't have to run it under warm water first. So easy!

Jill Colonna

MadAboutMacarons.com

Bonjour! I’m Jill, a Scottish-French lass in Paris and les Yvelines since 1992, home cook to my Corsican husband & teenage girls. Welcome to ‘le blog’ to accompany my French patisserie recipe books, Mad About Macarons and Teatime in Paris (Waverley Books).
Enjoy twists and stories to easy French and Scottish recipes – often adding some macarons for fun – sweet or even savoury! All recipes use seasonal, quality ingredients & LESS SUGAR (a vital tip learned from top Parisian pastry chefs). Out of the kitchen, join in my culinary discoveries and favourite Parisian Tea Salons.

More About Jill & the recipes …

Jill Colonna

Teatime in Paris Reviews

It's not 'cos' I happened to paint the Paris pastry map endpapers, but I love this cookbook. I'd no clue I could bake but Jill's Teatime in Paris makes it easy to bake real French pastry. If I can do it so can you.

Carol GillottMaking financiers with ParisBreakfasts

Teatime in Paris is chock full of tips, advice, references guides, clear step-by-step (recipe) instructions, and on-line stockists. For anyone who loves Paris, loves French, loves pastries, this pretty pink book is just the treat!

Jamie SchlerHoliday Cookbook Gift Guide, Huffington Post

Jill shares the best and easiest ways to make French pâtisserie classics at home, from madeleines to éclairs. While some desserts may appear hard to make, Jill breaks down each recipe with a simple step-by-step, making them more than suitable to prepare for your own teatime, wherever you may be.

Lindsey TramutaLost in Cheeseland/Author The New Paris

"...Years ago, I read 'French Women Don't Get Fat'. Colonna writes with a similar levelheaded voice. All things in moderation...

RoyaGoodReads

This pretty cookbook is as tempting as the recipes it describes, and suspect am going to earmark it as Gift of the Year for everyone I know who loves baking, eating and Paris (so that’s everyone).
Rating 10/10

NicolaLiterary Ramblings

To start, Jill scribes a fabulous passage about how the French enjoy pastry while maintaining their waistlines; the section in itself is worth the price of the book.

Brooks WalkerCakewalker

This book is a gorgeous visual feast and would be a lovely gift for those who enjoy baking.

NeginGoodReads

Essentially, Teatime in Paris is an entire book of foodporn: page after page of delectable desserts, pastries, cakes and of course, macarons.

Christina ConteChristinas Cucina

Jill is very down to earth ...The recipes are written simply and with lots of tips and advice so that you can make cakes that turn out like the pictures and taste absolutely scrumptious.

Janine MarshThe Good Life France

Jill’s style is light, humorous and most informative. Each recipe begins with a brief introduction, detailing its history and/or associations ... The photographs are mouthwatering, the recipes are varied and interesting; most importantly they’re actually DOABLE.

ChocletteTin and Thyme UK

Thank you for showing us it is possible to create special looking treats that taste delicious but don't cost the earth with difficult to find ingredients and that are simple and successful to make.

Jacqueline BrownFrench Village Diaries

The book also includes a helpful chapter on baking equipment (the essential and the “little luxuries”) along with a list of stockists for ingredients and equipment in various countries. There’s also a useful “quick reference guide for egg whites”.

Mardi MichelsEat Live Travel Write

Jill’s pâte sucrée (sweet pastry or sweet tart dough) recipe yields the best pastry cases I’ve ever made. They’re sturdy enough for any filling, but just the right balance of crispy and tender when you bite into them. They also don’t get soggy over time.

Teresa McCarthyOneWetFoot Canada

I would love to make almost every single recipe in Teatime in Paris. This is really a feat in a cookbook as many times, I end up putting them back on the shelf when I am considering buying one, as there just aren’t enough recipes that appeal to me.

Christina ConteChristinas Cucina

Programmes like the Great British Bake Off have brought pastries like Paris Brest, macarons and all manner of fancy tartlets into the British consciousness as something that can be made at home. Teatime in Paris! gives you the tools to create these yourself and Jill's recipes make them much easier than you would think.

Janice PattieFarmersgirl Kitchen

The recipes in Teatime in Paris are very well laid out. I wish all cookbooks were this easy to follow. I also appreciate how accessible Jill makes French pastries … I adored this cookbook from start to finish.

Stephanie CarusoKitchen Frolic

It's nice to be able to impress your friends and family with a dessert that looks like it was made by a pastry chef, but I often feel those fancy French pastries are beyond my ability or available time. I had heard that chocolate pastry was really difficult to work with and ganache seems like a tricky thing to make, however nothing could be further from the truth as you can see from these Double Chocolate Tartlets from "Teatime in Paris!"

Janice PattieFarmersgirl Kitchen

As she walks us through recipes for the easiest of treats right through to to the crème de la crème, Jill points out some of the streets famous for the best patisseries in Paris, adding bits of history and plenty of baking tips, making this a recipe tour that’s both fun and accessible.

Mardi MichelsEat Live Travel Write

From cover-to-cover Jill Colonna introduces you to teatime in Paris, both as a dining experience to partake in, and as the maker of the fine delectable pastry recipes she shares. You’ll develop a base knowledge of French pastry concepts, learn how less sugar plays a supporting role, and gain confidence as a beginning baker or strengthen skills you already have.

Brooks WalkerCakewalker

Teatime in Paris brings the Pâtisserie to your kitchen, and no, you don't need to be a master chef to taste these treats in your own home. Thanks to Jill and her easy to follow directions - and with ingredients you probably already have in your own pantry.

Kim KellyLivLife