“Ice-cream, gelato, sorbet, sherbet… I love them all,” says Jordan Toft of Bert’s. “Even when you think you’re full, I feel you’ll find room for this, a dessert using the last of the season’s mandarins, infused with chamomile for a refreshing contrast. The yoghurt sorbet centre is inspired by the Creamsicle pops I had in the US; here it’s made more adult with the addition of sponge and toasted meringue.” Begin this recipe a day ahead to freeze the slice.
Ingredients
Almond dacquoise
Mandarin & chamomile sorbet
Yoghurt sorbet
Meringue
Method
1.For almond dacquoise, preheat oven to 175°C and line a 9cm x 23cm greased loaf tin with Go-Between (see note). Draw a 9cm x 23cm rectangle on baking paper and invert onto a baking tray. Whisk eggwhite and caster sugar in an electric mixer to almost stiff peaks (5-7 minutes). Fold in almond meal, then icing sugar. Spoon onto baking paper, spread evenly with a spatula to marked lines and bake until golden (10-15 minutes). Cool, then place in tin, trimming to fit base. Chill in freezer until needed.
2.For mandarin and chamomile sorbet, peel and juice mandarins, (or blend in a blender), then strain through a sieve, pushing to extract all the juice. Bring 750ml juice and tea to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain. Bring glucose, sugar and 2 tbsp water to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool, then add juice, stirring well to make sure glucose is dissolved, then churn in an ice-cream machine until frozen. Spread half the sorbet over dacquoise base, cover with Go-Between and freeze until set (1 hour; freeze remaining sorbet in a container).
3.For yoghurt sorbet, bring sugar, corn syrup, vanilla bean and seeds and 150ml water to the boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool, whisk in yoghurt and lemon juice, then strain through a sieve. Churn in ice-cream machine until frozen, then spread evenly over mandarin sorbet. Cover with Go-Between and freeze until firm (1 hour).
4.Spread remaining mandarin sorbet evenly over yoghurt sorbet, cover with Go-Between, and freeze until set (8 hours or overnight).
5.For meringue, place sugar and 60ml water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve, then boil until syrup reaches 110°C on a sugar thermometer (5-10 minutes). Meanwhile, whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer, whisking until syrup reaches 120°C (1-2 minutes). With the motor on medium speed, slowly pour syrup into eggwhite and whisk until firm, glossy and almost cooled (7-10 minutes). Whisk in cream of tartar and transfer to a piping bag with a 6mm-7mm star nozzle. Pipe meringue in a spiral pattern down one side of plates, then burnish with a blowtorch. Cut frozen slice into 2cm-thick pieces with a wet knife and serve next to meringue.
Choose mandarins with dark orange flesh such as honey murcott. Corn syrup is available from select delicatessens and essentialingredient.com.au. Go-Between, a high-grade freezer plastic used to keep food from sticking, is available from select supermarkets.
Drink suggestion: A sweet but zesty and refreshing riesling touched by noble rot, such as 2013 Friends of Punch “Noble” from Gippsland, Victoria. Drink suggestion by Adrian Filiuta.
Ben Dearnley
