Cedar-infused Wild Apple and Pear Sorbet with Sumac Tuile
Yield: 1.5 L (6 cups)
I ENJOY FORAGING IN THE FALL, WALKING THROUGH THE WOODS LOOKING FOR WILD APPLES AND PEARS, and eating them while searching for bears’ tooth mushrooms. The sorbet comes out very well with store-bought apples and pears, too. The dish is inspired by what the land has to offer in the fall.
INGREDIENTS
TUILES (OPTIONAL)
- 113 g (¼ lb) butter
- 113 g (¼ lb) sugar
- 104 g (3½ oz) whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 pinch salt
- milk
- sumac powder
SORBET
- 1 L (4 cups) cane sugar (or white sugar)
- 1 handful green cedar fronds
- 3–4 wild apples (or 2–3 Golden Delicious apples), quartered
- 3–4 wild pears (or 2–3 Bosc pears), quartered
METHOD
Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
Transfer butter to a saucepan and melt on low. Combine with sugar, flour, egg white and salt in a bowl and whisk to form into a smooth batter. Transfer to the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. If batter gets too thick, thin it by stirring in a little milk. Use a spatula to spread batter in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Transfer to middle rack and bake until bronzed and crisp — about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with sumac powder and let set.
Combine sugar and 1 L (4 cups) water in a saucepan on medium and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer, add cedar and set aside, off heat. Taste syrup after a few minutes to see how flavour is developing. When infusion attains desired strength, strain syrup into a container. Reserve syrup and discard cedar. Combine apples, pears and 125 ml (½ cup) water in a saucepan on medium heat, and cook, stirring, until the fruit starts to release its juices. Lower heat and simmer until fruit is very soft — about 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender and whizz until puréed. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add just enough cedar syrup to balance tartness of the fruit and attain the right texture for a sorbet base. This is best tested using the buoyancy of an egg. Submerge one whole, very fresh egg in the mixture and add syrup until the egg begins to float, with just its crown breaching the surface. Remove egg and transfer mixture to a chilled sorbet machine. Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions until a smooth sorbet is attained — about 20 minutes. Transfer to the freezer. Set aside on countertop 10 minutes before serving. Top with a piece of tuile.
Photos by (portrait) Suresh Doss, (food) Alyssa Martin
