Nougat Glace

A frozen mousse of meringue and cream filled with dried berries and nuts, then garnished with raspberry puree and chocolate, and finally festooned with sparkling raspberries. This beautiful sweet treat made with an Italian Meringue is often served during the Christmas festivities in France.

Nougat Glace (Frozen Meringue Mousse with Berries and Nuts)

3 egg whites

1 1/4 cups cream, very cold

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup sugar

 1/4 cup pistachio nuts or hazelnuts, or both

 1/4 cup sliced almonds

 1/4 cup dried cranberries

 1/4 cup dried blueberries or raspberries

 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted

 1 1/4 cups fresh raspberries

 Directions: 

-Beat the egg whites until stiff. 

-While egg whites are beating, place the sugar and honey in a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat slightly and continue to cook until the mixture has reached 242 degrees F.

-With the mixer beating slowly, pour the honey syrup in a thin stream into the beaten egg whites, then increase the speed and continue whipping until the mixture has cooled (about 10 - 12 minutes) 

-Whip the cream to soft peaks. Chop/crush almonds and pistachios and dried berries. 

-Line a loaf bread pan (8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches) with parchment paper or plastic wrap, letting the edges hang out over the edges of the pan, for easy removal of the frozen mousse.

-Gently fold the egg whites into whipped cream, and then gently fold through the fruit and nuts. Scoop the mixture into the prepared mold and cover with plastic wrap, laying the wrap on the surface of the mousse. Place in the freezer for at least 12 hours, to freeze. 

-To serve, turn out onto a flat cake plate, drizzle with a little melted dark chocolate and garnish with raspberry puree, then fresh raspberries. 

RASPBERRY PUREE

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries 1/4 cup white granulated sugar 1 - 2 teaspoons lemon juice

-Place raspberries in medium saucepan, stir in sugar and add lemon juice. Slowly heat raspberries over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium and allow mixture to come to a low boil, until berries break up and mixture thickens. (Thin with water if your prefer a thinner puree) Remove from heat and let cool completely. Puree can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. 

Roughly chop the combination of dried fruit and nuts before stirring into the meringue cream mixture.

Gently stir the cream into the beaten egg whites, then fold the dried fruit and nuts into the mousse mixture.

Spread meringue/cream mixture into the bottom of a bread loaf pan, lined with parchment paper. Cover the top with plastic wrap, then freeze for at least 12 hours.

Cut each serving across the set mousse into 1 - 1 ½ inch thick servings.

Drizzle with melted chocolate and raspberry puree.

Garnish with whole raspberries then serve immediately as it will melt quickly.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

**If you prefer a “coulis” to a “puree” make the following adjustments to the recipe for the puree. A coulis is basically the same ingredients but the difference is that the seeds and pulp are removed from the mixture which gives you a very smooth, syrupy sauce. In the recipe above, after you cook the raspberries with the sugar and lemon until thickened, place the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Next, strain the mixture through a mesh strainer into a bowl, pushing the mixture with a spatula back and forth, leaving the seeds and any pith that may be left from the berries, behind. Chill coulis before using in this recipe.

**You can use any combination of nuts and dried berries or fruit that appeal to you. It is important that the berries or fruit added to the meringue mousse are dried and don’t add extra moisture to the mousse. Golden raisins and dried blueberries are often used in this mousse as well. Just be careful that the combination of nuts and fruit do not exceed much over 1 cup so that the ratio of mousse to nuts & fruits is just right. Be sure to chop the dried fruit and nuts before adding, into smaller pieces as shown above.

** If using hazelnuts it is best to purchase them already blanched or roasted and skinned. The skin is very difficult and tedious to remove, so let someone else do it for you! You can find them on Amazon blanched and skinned or sometimes in grocery stores, often in a bag of “Fisher’s”, already chopped.

**If you love cherry and chocolate together, use dried cherries as your mix-in fruit, then make a cherry “coulis” for the topping.