Les Vacherins

When we lived in Lyon, Michael's and my favorite restaurant was Brasserie l'Est. Paul Bocuse, the famous lyonnais chef, opened four reasonably priced restaurants in Lyon...Le Nord, Le Sud, L'Est and L'Ouest (North, South, East and West for those of you needing translation). Once we came in after church and to be seated quickly, we sat at the counter near the pastry chef. We watched him artistically design beautiful desserts. We then tried the "vacherins." At l'Est it was two long meringues on a bed of raspberry sauce with three types of sorbet line up between them (I think mango, raspberry and pineapple). It was topped with fresh chantilly (pronounced shon tee yee, aka whipped cream) and fresh raspberries. We've always wanted to relive that experience so here's my attempt (with a little help from Barefoot in Paris.

6 egg whites, at room temp
1/4 t cream of tartar
salt
1 1/2 c granulated sugar, divided
1/2 t vanilla
Whipped cream
2 pints of raspberries
raspberry sauce
2 pints of sorbet (flavors can vary)

Preheat the oven to 200. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Draw six 3 1/2 inch circles on each piece of paper and turn the paper face down.

In an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and a large pinch of salt on medium speed until frothy. Add 1 cup of sugar and raise speed to high until forms stiff peaks. Whisk in vanilla. Fold the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Pipe a discs of meringue into circles on the parchment using a pastry bag with a large star tip.

Bake 2 hours, until meringues dry and crisp, but not brown. Turn off heat and let them sit, in the oven, 4 hours or overnight.

To serve, spoon a large spoonful of raspberry sauce on the plate. Place the meringue on top. Scoop two balls of sorbet on top of the meringue. Top with whipped cream and berries.

Serves 12.


Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
2 T sugar
2 t vanilla or rum

Raspberry Sauce
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 c sugar
1 c raspberry jam or preserves
1 T framboise liqueur, or use brandy

Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 c water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer about 4 minutes. Pour cooked raspberries, jam and liqueur into food processor. Process until smooth and chill.

I had trouble with my sauce being runny, so I threw it back into the saucepan, added 1 T cornstarch and cooked until it thickened. I added a little more framboise and then strained it so it minimized the number of seeds.