Stuffed Tomatoes

A trompe l'oeil ice: a hinged tomato-shaped mold lined with strawberry sorbet and filled with praline ice cream, fruit and liqueur-soaked macaroons. Nothing here is difficult, but the whole thing depends on working fast enough that the sorbet lining never softens.

• The hinge of the dishChill the mold in the freezer before you begin, and line it with sorbet that is firm but spreadable, not melting. If the lining slumps while you pack the center, the two layers bleed together and the finished ice looks like a smear rather than a tomato skin over flesh.
• "Mask the sides"Press a shell of strawberry water ice about a quarter-inch thick against the interior with the back of a cold spoon, working from the bottom up. Return the mold to the freezer to set hard before filling the middle.
• Water ice and burnt almondA water ice is a sorbet, water-and-sugar based with no dairy. Burnt almond ice cream is praline ice cream, flavored with almonds cooked in caramel and ground; a good store-bought praline or almond ice cream stands in without complaint.
• SalpiconA salpicon is a fine, even dice, here of fruit, mixed with crumbled macaroons. Use amaretti or French almond macarons rather than coconut macaroons, and soak them only briefly in maraschino or they collapse to paste.
• PrunellePrunelle is a sloe or blackthorn liqueur, still made in France and roughly comparable to sloe gin in flavor. A tablespoon or two in the sauce is enough; more will keep the whipped cream from holding.
• "Close forcibly, imbed in ice"The instruction means closing the two halves of the mold tightly so the seam does not leak, then burying it in a tub of crushed ice; freezing by ice mixed with salt is the standard method of the period. A modern freezer will do the same job, though it will want considerably longer than the half hour given here.
• UnmoldingDip the closed mold in cold water for a few seconds, open it, and turn it out. The napkin under the ices is not decoration only -- it absorbs meltwater on the platter.
• Yield and serviceThe original gives none. Figure one mold per person, with the vanilla-cream-and-prunelle sauce passed separately in a bowl. Serve immediately; these are at their best straight from the mold.