Sable of apricot sorbet and star anise mousse with sauternes poached

Phillippa Sibley Cooke & Donovan Cooke

Sable of apricot sorbet and star anise mousse with sauternes poached

Serves 4

Sable

Ingredients

250 g plain flour
200 g butter (at room temperature)
100 g caster sugar
small egg yolk
1/2 tablespoon cream

Method

Sift flour onto work surface and make a well in the centre.

Put butter and sugar into the well and work until no hard lumps remain.

Add egg and cream.

Begin to draw in the flour and work until you have a mass resembling oatmeal.

Begin smearing the mixture with the palm of your hand until you have a homogenous paste.

Do not overwork.

Roll pastry into a log and refrigerate for several hours before using.

Cut 1/2 cm slices of sable pastry and gently knock each one out to make it easier to roll. Roll the disks out to about 3mm and cut to desired shape. (they will be extremely delicate). Place on baking paper, well spaced, and bake at 160 o for 10 minutes or until just golden on the edge.

You will need three per person

The sable pastry is delicious with many fruits. It is a very light pastry which melts in the mouth. The name refers to its sandy texture. It can be assembled very simply with berries and cream, for example, or with pastry cream, flavoured with vanilla or with liquuer and matched with any soft, juicy fruit.

Apricot Sorbet

Ingredients

1 kg apricots (stones removed)
300 g caster sugar
85 g powdered glucose
285 ml water
1 vanilla bean split (optional)

Method

Bring the sugar, glucose, water and if using, vanilla bean to the boil.

Add the apricots and boil for 5 minutes.

Cool.

Puree in a blender and push through a sieve.

Taste the mixture as you may like to add some lemon juice.

Cool completely before churning in an ice-cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Sugar Syrups

Ingredients

1 kg caster sugar
1 litre water

Method

In a saucepan, bring thesugar and water to the boil, stirring occasonally with a spatula.

Boil for about 3 minutes, skimming in necessary.

Strain the syrup through a conical strainer and use when completely cold.

Makes 1.5 litres and can be stored indefinitely.

Confit Zest

Ingredients

Lemon zest
Water to cover
Sugar syrup

Method

This recipe also works well with oranges and other citrus fruits.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the fruit. With a small, sharp knife, remove any remaining pith. Cut the zest into fine julienne.

Place the zest in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil quickly, strain and repeat the process three times.

Cover with basic stock syrup and cook on very low heat for 45 minutes, topping up the syrup as necessary. The syrup should always cover the zest and should never actually boil.

Star Anise Mousse

Ingredients

140 g caster sugar
1 tbsp water
juice of 1 lemon
6 egg yolks
70 ml Pastis or Ricard
450 ml cream (lightly whipped)
1.5 leaves gelatine (soaked in water)

Method

Line a small tray (20cm x 15cm) with baking paper.

Put eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to the boil and when the temperature reaches 110 degrees start whisking the egg yolks.

Once the sugar reaches 110 degrees remove from the heat and pour in a steady stream down the side of the bowl onto the whisking egg yolks.

Continue beating until cold.

Heat the pastis and lemon juice in a saucepan and swirl in the gelatine.

Add to this 1/3 of the yolk mixture, then fold into the rest.

Fold in the cream, taking care not to over mix.

Spread into the tray and freeze until 1/2 an hour before needed.

Ingredients

1 lt water
500 g sugar
375 ml sweet white wine
1 vanilla bean
2 star anise pods
juice of 1 lemon
18 apricot halves
lemon zest

Method

Bring all the ingredients to the boil except the apricots.

Reduce to a simmer, add the fruit and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Allow to cool in the liquid.

Gently remove the apricots from the liquid.

For the sauce reduce one cup of poaching liquid to 1/2 a cup.

In the middle of each plate put a sable biscuit.

Using a cutter slightly smaller than the sable cut a disc of mousse and place on the biscuit. Top with another biscuit then using a piping bag, pipe a circle of sorbet on top.

Dust another biscuit with icing sugar and complete the sandwich.

Place 3 apricot halves around the plate with some lemon confit.

Drizzle some sauce around and serve