Swan Lake
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup Chartreuse liqueur
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pieces
- 18 teaspoon salt
- 18 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (do not use low-fat)
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon Chartreuse liqueur
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 mandarin oranges, all skin and pith removed, sections cut out from between membranes
- Confectioners' sugar, optional
- To make the granite, combine water and Chartreuse and pour onto a jellyroll pan.
- Place in freezer until frozen, about 45 minutes.
- To make the profiteroles, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place water, butter, salt and sugar in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in flour.
- Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture dries out and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute.
- Place in a bowl for an electric mixer.
- With mixer running, add eggs 1 at a time.
- Scrape down sides of bowl and mix until smooth.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the dough in a pastry bag, using a No.
- 0 tip.
- Make the swan's neck and head by piping out an arc about 2 inches long.
- Make a small oval at one end for the head and a 1/4-inch tail coming off of the point where the head joins the neck.
- Make 7 more of these, spacing them 2 inches apart.
- Transfer dough to a second bag, using a No.
- 4B tip.
- To make the swan's body, pipe out a teardrop shape, beginning with the rounded part and gradually using less pressure so the dough tapers to a point.
- The teardrop should be about 2 1/4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches at the widest part.
- Pipe out 7 more of these.
- Bake on baking sheet until light brown.
- Watch carefully and remove the necks from the baking sheet as soon as they are done, about 5 minutes; the bodies will take a few more minutes.
- Set aside to cool.
- To make the pastry cream, place the milk and the vanilla bean in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and egg.
- Whisk the milk vigorously into the egg mixture.
- Place the mixture in the saucepan.
- Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and cooks for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Whisk in Chartreuse until mixture is very smooth.
- In separate bowl whip cream until stiff peaks form.
- Whisk 1/2 of the whipped cream into the cooked mixture.
- Fold in the remaining cream.
- Chill until cold.
- Dessert can be made several hours ahead up to this point.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the swans' bodies in half horizontally.
- Cut each top in half lengthwise.
- Place the pastry cream in a pastry bag, using a No.
- 4B tip.
- Pipe it into the bottom half of each swan so that it mounds over the top.
- Place a neck down into the cream at the rounded edge of each body.
- Perch the halved tops on each side of the swan's body to look like wings.
- Remove the granite from the freezer.
- Use a spoon to scrape up the mixture into an icy slush.
- Spoon some of the granite onto the center of each of 4 plates.
- Place 2 swans on each plate, on top of the granite.
- Garnish the pastry cream at the back of each swan with a few of the orange slices.
- Lightly sprinkle with sugar.
- Serve immediately.
water, liqueur, water, unsalted butter, salt, sugar, flour, eggs, milk, vanilla bean, sugar, flour, cornstarch, egg, liqueur, heavy cream, oranges, confectioners
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7184 (may not work)