Guava and Custard Apple Snow Eggs

Guava and Custard Apple Snow Eggs:

So the challange that inspired me and started it all was this amazing creation by Chef Peter Gilmore as seen on Masterchef (2010 I believe)

http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/guava-and-custard-apple-snow-egg.htm

Up until this point in my life I had never (1) tasted a Custard Apple, (2) made ice-cream, (3) heard of maltose or (4) made poached meringue!  To be honest it took me a few weeks just to find the hemisphere molds and find a place to purchase the maltose - but I persisted - I was on a mission - I was going to make this baby!

I tackled each component as separate tasks and over a couple of days - starting with the Custard Apple Ice Cream and the Guave Granita as they just go into the freezer once done... 

The poached meringue was a double challenge for me because I had everything ready to go when I noticed the oven wasn't getting hot - that would be because the element decided that now would be a good time to die on me!  Don't panic - do you think I can do it in the microwave???  Well, turns out you can do the meringue in the microwave - whew! 

Anyway - I don't have many photo's as I was too busy concentraing on what the heck I was doing to worry about photos - but as all the compoenents came together I was making one hell of a racket in the kitchen and demading the family come see (and taste!) my masterpiece before it melted!  I was one very happy little camper and my hubby and son had seconds...

Microwave Meringues

Custard Apple Ice Cream



Maltose Tuille - before it was crushed and then melted with Blow Torch



The Final Product: Guava & Custard Apple Snow Eggs

Ingredients

Components

• poached meringue
• maltose tuilles
• guava puree
• guava granita
• custard apple ice cream
• vanilla custard base
• vanilla cream
• guava fool

Poached Meringue

• 300g egg white
• 300g sugar

Maltose Tuilles

• 200g liquid maltose
• 100g sugar
• 20g flaked almonds

Guava Puree

• 175g sugar
• 250ml water
• ½ vanilla bean
• 375g strawberry guava flesh

Guava Granita

• 500ml water
• 100g sugar
• 400g strawberry guavas, peeled
• 100g fresh strawberries

Custard Apple Ice Cream

• 6 egg yolks
• 200g sugar
• 200ml milk
• 300ml clear custard apple juice
• 100ml single cream

Vanilla Custard Base

• 400ml single cream
• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 whole egg
• 3 egg yolks
• 80g sugar

Vanilla cream

• 100g vanilla custard base
• 100g double cream

Guava Fool

• 400g guava puree
• 200g vanilla cream

Method

Poached Meringue

1. 1For this recipe you will need a 6cm diameter half hemisphere sili con mould sheet.
2. 2Whisk the egg whites in a machine until they form soft peaks and slowly add the sugar.
3. 3Once the meringue forms firm peaks and the sugar has dissolved place the meringue into 16 half hemisphere moulds.
4. 4Cook the meringue in a bain marie large enough to hold the silicon mat in a pre-heated 120°C oven for approximately 15 minutes. Allow to cool then unmould the half hemispheres and store in the fridge on a silicon paper lined tray until needed.

Maltose Tuilles

1. 1Heat the sugar and maltose together until it reaches hard crack stage (until it caramelises). Add the flaked almonds and immediately pour the mixture onto a silicon mat, allow to cool completely.
2. 2Process the hard caramel in a food processor to form a fine powder. Next sieve the praline mixture in a course sieve onto a silicon mat in a fine layer.
3. 3Melt this mixture in a moderate oven until it forms a clear liquid paste.
4. 4Remove from the oven and before the praline becomes too hard cut into a 15cm diameter circle using a metal circle cutter. When each circle is hard store between silicon paper in an air tight container.

Guava Puree

1. 1Combine the sugar, water and scraped vanilla bean in a pot and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, add the guava flesh and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. 2Take off the heat, remove the vanilla pods, drain the flesh from the liquid, place the flesh in a blender and add just enough of the cooking liquid to process into a thick guava puree.
3. 3Pass the puree through a fine sieve and set aside in the fridge until needed.

Guava Granita

1. 1Roughly dice the guavas and strawberries.
2. 2Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan, bring to the boil then lower the heat to a slow simmer. Add the diced fruit and gently simmer for ten minutes.
3. 3Take off the heat and allow to infuse at room temperature for two hours.
4. 4Pass the liquid through a muslin cloth and discard the solids.
5. 5Pour the guava syrup into a ceramic or stainless steel container to a depth of 5cm. Place in the freezer for a period of no less than 12 hours.
6. 6Every two to three hours remove from the freezer and scrape with a fork to form the granita crystals.

Custard Apple Ice Cream

1. 1Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together, bring the milk to the boil and pour on to the egg yolk sugar mixture while whisking.
2. 2Pour the mixture into a stainless steel bowl and cook out while whisking over a pot of simmering water (approximately ten minutes). Allow the sabayon to cool over ice.
3. 3Meanwhile using extremely ripe custard apples scoop the flesh of approximately one large custard apple into a double muslin lined chinois. Gather the muslin cloth at the top and squeeze the ripe custard apple flesh tightly to obtain a clear juice.
4. 4When you have 300ml of clear juice whisk it into the sabayon with the 100ml of single cream. Place the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until ready. Place the ice cream in a container in the freezer until needed.

Vanilla Custard Base

1. Heat the cream and the two split and scraped vanilla beans together until it just begins to boil then remove from the heat.
2. Next whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together in a stainless steel bowl. While whisking the eggs slowly pour on the hot vanilla cream. Mix well and remove the vanilla pods.
3. Pour this mixture into four large dariole moulds to a depth of 5cm, place the dariole moulds into a tray of water to form a water bath. Place the water bath into a pre-heated 150C oven and cook the custard as you would a crème brulee for approximately 25 minutes until the custard is just set.
4. Remove the custards from the bain marie and place them in the fridge for approximately five to six hours until they are fully chilled and set.

Vanilla cream

1. Whisk the cream and custard together to form soft peaks.

Guava Fool Method

1. Place the guava puree in a small bowl and fold through the vanilla cream gently to form a rippled effect. Do this just before you are ready to assemble the dessert.

To assemble

1. Take eight of the half hemisphere poached meringues. Using a teaspoon remove a small scoop from the centre of each half hemisphere being careful not to break through the outer edge.
2. Then place a small scoop of custard apple ice cream inside the hole you have just made. Scoop a small hole in the rest of the hemispheres and invert over the ice cream filled meringues to form a complete sphere.
3. Place a maltose biscuit on top of each sphere and using a gentle blow torch melt the biscuit over the sphere. Dust all the spheres with icing sugar.
4. Next add a generous spoonful of the guava fool in the bottom of each serving glass. Top the fool with the guava granita then place the custard apple ice cream poached meringue spheres on top of the granita and serve.