Redcurrant Cream of Coppet
A sweet vanilla cream dotted with tart redcurrants, a vivid contrast between the cream's richness and the fruit's bright acidity, served at the end of the meal.
A sweet vanilla cream dotted with tart redcurrants, a vivid contrast between the cream's richness and the fruit's bright acidity, served at the end of the meal.
When summer ripened the redcurrant bushes at Coppet, I loved to end the meal with this very simple sweetness, where the freshness of the lake seems to pass into the dish. A creamy custard is beaten, lightly sweetened and perfumed, then these little bright red pearls are mixed in, so lively that they pucker the lips. The contrast of sour and sweet awakens the palate, like a last spark of wit before leaving the table. Taste it cool, at dusk, with Lake Geneva before your eyes: it is my whole country in a spoon.
- •Fresh redcurrants — two bowls (tart fruit)
- •Cream — a good bowl (base)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- •Egg yolks — two (binding)
- •Vanilla pod — one (flavor)
Redcurrant Cream of Coppet
A sweet vanilla cream dotted with tart redcurrants, a vivid contrast between the cream's richness and the fruit's bright acidity, served at the end of the meal.
Why this dish? The gardens of Coppet, on the shores of Lake Geneva, yielded summer red berries. This redcurrant cream evokes the simple, fresh desserts that ended evenings at the château, between mountain and lake.
When summer ripened the redcurrant bushes at Coppet, I loved to end the meal with this very simple sweetness, where the freshness of the lake seems to pass into the dish. A creamy custard is beaten, lightly sweetened and perfumed, then these little bright red pearls are mixed in, so lively that they pucker the lips. The contrast of sour and sweet awakens the palate, like a last spark of wit before leaving the table. Taste it cool, at dusk, with Lake Geneva before your eyes: it is my whole country in a spoon.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh redcurrants — two bowls (tart fruit)
- Cream — a good bowl (base)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- Egg yolks — two (binding)
- Vanilla pod — one (flavor)
Ingredients
- Fresh (or frozen) redcurrants — 250 g (tart fruit)
- Heavy cream — 250 ml (base)
- Milk — 150 ml (base)
- Sugar — 60 g (sweetness)
- Egg yolks — 3 (binding)
- Vanilla pod — 1 (flavor)
Method
- Heat the milk and cream with the split and scraped vanilla pod.
- Whisk the yolks with the sugar, pour the hot liquid over them while stirring.
- Thicken gently over very low heat without boiling (coating cream), then let cool.
- Strip the redcurrants from their stems, reserve a few clusters for decoration.
- Divide the cream into cups, sprinkle with redcurrants and serve well chilled.
How it was made : In Madame de Staël's time, meals ended with a dessert of fresh seasonal fruit and vanilla-scented creams — vanilla was then a precious product. Redcurrants, abundant in northern and lake region gardens, were a popular summer fruit, eaten raw or in jelly.
The contemporary twist : Layer the cream in a glass with redcurrant coulis at the bottom and a few sugar-frosted clusters on top, for a gradient of red and white.
Madame de Staël · Charactorium
