The original intention was to post a green tomato recipe for all you gardeners out there who have over flowing tomato plants. Then I realized it was already AUGUST 31st. Can you believe it is the end of August?!! Where did the summer go?! The end of the month means a recipe from Francois Payard.
This month the fan club at Chocolate with Francois is making Dacquoise (egg whites, nut flour made into a crisp meringue). The pick was made by Sandy of Seattle Pastry Girl.
The Dacquoises cradle poached peaches and should be topped with a chocolate chiboust. I topped mine with rich chocolate pudding. Reminder, for a one stop look at the recipe, visit Sandy’s site. For different versions, see my links below.
Here is a recipe for Dacquoise from Global Gourmet. It looks pretty involved. The Francois version wasn’t that difficult.
Here is a recipe for chiboust from Cuisine-French. I used a rich chocolate pudding instead.
Finally, poaching peaches. This couldn’t be easier and it is so good. Here is a recipe from Taste.
The peaches were to be poached in lavender. I couldn’t find lavender in the store which turned out not to be such a bad thing. I simply used cinnamon. Not sure I would have felt comfortable using the lavender anyway.
The night before making this recipe, I watched “Cup Cake Wars”. One of the chefs used lavender to make a frosting and said it was very tricky to use because it can end up tasting like soap. Francois’ recipes are quite involved and if I were to make my peaches with lavender then they ended up tasting like Peach-Lavender Shower Gel, I would not be happy.
Since I love all things cinnamon, the flavor coupled with the peaches worked well in my opinion.
Now maybe the pudding doesn’t look really pretty. Maybe it looks a little …ahhhh….obscene? But it tastes good and that’s what counts.
One spoonful to test it….
One spoonful to make sure the first wonderful bite wasn’t a fluke ….
The final spoonful for confirmation. This recipe was pure sweet indulgence.
Good pick Sandy.
Joanne
The close up pictures are GREAT!!! I’m not a peach lover, but I’m sure this would be great with apples!
The pudding doesn’t do anything for the photo – I realize that. But it was still good. 🙂
Oh this looks so delish. I wanted to make meringue for a while but I finally threw my white sugar out since it wreaks havoc with my insulin levels. I always wonder is there a way to make this using agave or stevia?
Hi Dawn: Here is a link for lemon meringue pie. But simply follow the meringue recipe to customize for chocolate or other flavors.
http://blog.xagave.com/tag/agave/
I copied the recipe in this email. It was news to me that you could use agave for meringue. Where there’s a will there’s a way, right?!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Pie Crust
1 precooked pie crust
Filling
2/3 cup Xagave
1 cup milk
6 large yolks (save egg whites for meringue below)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. butter (salted or unsalted)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water
5 tablespoons cornstarch
Meringue
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tbsp. Xagave
Steps:
In a sauce pan, combine Xagave, milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, and salt. Brint to boil and immediately reduce to simmer while stirring with a whisk. Combine water and corn starch and mix until all
clumps are gone. Whisk in corn starch and water mixture to simmering ingredients in sauce pan. Mixture will thicken within a minute or two. Poor into precooked pie crust. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and pinch of salt in bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add Xagave while beating. Cover the pie evenly with the meringue. Form decorative peaks with a knife or fork. Bake pie at 325℉ for 14 to 16 minutes until meringue is set and golden brown. Alternatively place pie under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until meringue is set and golden brown. If you use the broiler alternative, watch the pie to ensure that it does not burn.
Tips and Notes: Try spreading fresh blueberries or raspberries over top of lemon filling prior to adding meringue.
Aaaaaaah. That looks so heavenly. I am going to make it.
Thanks – Hey Girlie! Long time no hear from?!
O.M.G. That looks phenomenal!
This looks heavenly. I am glad you had success poaching the peaches in cinnamon…I think cinnamon is always wonderful, especially with chocolate. Thank you for sharing.