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Mousse Marron
1 quart vanilla ice cream 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup water Whites two eggs 1 teaspoon granulated gelatine 1 1/2 cups prepared French chestnuts 1 pint cream 1/2 tablespoon vanilla Cook sugar and water five minutes, pour on to beaten whites of eggs, dissolve gelatine in one and one-half tablespoons boiling water, and add to first mixture. Set in a pan of ice-water, and stir until cold; add chestnuts, and fold in whip from cream and vanilla. Line a mould with ice cream, and fill with mixture; cover, pack in salt and ice, and let stand three hours.
This is a frozen bombe: a chestnut mousse set inside a shell of vanilla ice cream. The hinge is the sugar syrup, which must reach the soft-ball stage before it goes onto the egg whites, or the meringue will stay slack and the mousse will freeze grainy.
- The syrup, by temperature not by clock"Cook sugar and water five minutes" is a rough gauge that depends on the pan and the heat. Work to 238-240F on a thermometer, then pour it in a thin stream onto whites beaten to soft peaks and keep whipping until the bowl is barely warm.
- "Prepared French chestnuts"These are marrons: peeled chestnuts cooked and held in vanilla syrup, sold as marrons au sirop. Drain syrup-packed ones well and break them up coarsely; plain vacuum-packed or roasted chestnuts are unsweetened and will make the mousse taste flat.
- Gelatine measureOne teaspoon of granulated gelatine is a little under half a modern 1/4-oz envelope. Sprinkle it over the 1 1/2 tablespoons of boiling water, stir until completely clear, and add it while the meringue is still warm so it does not set in threads.
- "Whip from cream"The older books mean the stiff foam skimmed off partly whipped cream, discarding the thin liquid beneath. Simply whip 2 cups (1 pint) of heavy cream to soft peaks with the vanilla and fold that in; do not beat it stiff, or the frozen mousse turns waxy.
- Lining the mouldChill the mould hard first, then press slightly softened ice cream in an even half-inch layer over the base and sides with the back of a spoon and refreeze the shell solid before filling.
- Salt and ice, or the freezerPacking in a salt-and-ice bath was how a mould was frozen without machinery. A modern freezer at 0F does the same work, though more slowly: allow at least 5 to 6 hours, or overnight, rather than three.
- Unmoulding and servingDip the mould in warm water for a few seconds, invert onto a cold plate, and return it to the freezer for 15 minutes to firm the surface before slicing. The full quantity serves about 10 to 12.
- Raw whitesCorrectly made, the hot syrup brings the whites well up in temperature, but the mousse is never actually cooked. Use pasteurized whites if serving anyone who should avoid raw egg.