Fresh fig mousse

1 mousse

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ cup Sugar
1 cup ;Water
1 tablespoon Strong vanilla extract
1 Long curl of orange peel
1 One-inch piece vanilla bean
6 Ripe figs or
2 4 oz. jars preserved figs* or-
8 ounces Package figs**
1 tablespoon Gelatin
¼ cup Orange juice
1½ cup Creme patissiere
1 cup Heavy cream
1 teaspoon Strong vanilla extract
3 Egg whites
1 pinch Salt
1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
Bright-skinned orange for grating

Directions

Put sugar and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. When mixture is boiling, reduce heat and add 1 tb. vanilla, orange peel and vanilla bean. Cook for about 10 minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy and thick. Add the whole figs and poach them for about 25 minutes or until they are fork tender. Cool.

*(If using preserved figs, remove the figs and put the syrup, orange peel, vanilla bean and the vanilla in a saucepan with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Return the figs to the hot syrup; coat them well with glaze, and cool.) **(If using packaged dried figs, reduce the sugar to 1 cup and the water to ¾ cup. When the sugar-water mixture described in Paragraph 1 becomes syrupy, add the figs and remove from the heat.

All other instructions are the same.) In a small bowl, combine the gelatin with orange juice and place it over a pan of not quite simmering water. Stir the mixture well until the gelatin completely dissolves. When the liquid is quite syrupy and no longer grainy, add to the cooled fig mixture.

Remove one fig for a final garnish later and then place the other fruit, orange peel and syrup into the jar of a blender. Slit the vanilla bean down the center with a sharp knife and scrape the seeds, at random, into the mixture. Blend at high speed for about a minute or until the mixture becomes a thick honey-colored puree.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled fig puree with creme patissiere.

In a chilled bowl, beat heavy cream with 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Whip the cream until it holds its shape well, but do not overbeat.

Dust the egg whites with a pinch of salt and whip them to a fine froth. When soft peaks form, sprinkle on a tablespoon of granulated sugar and then beat them hard until they hold their shape.

Combine the fig mixture with the whipped cream, gently working the cream into the custard with a large rubber bowl scraper. Immediately fold in the drifts of egg whites.

Place in a bowl and refrigerate for about 4 to 5 hours. Just before serving, grate the rind of the bright-skinned orange over the entire surface. Snip the reserved fig into thin strips and ring the sides of the mousse with them.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Greene writes: "Edna St. Vincent Millay once called a collection of her verse, 'a few figs from thistles.' [This] collection of mousse would hardly be complete without a dessert concocted of that redoubtable fruit. This fig (use them fresh if you are lucky enough to find them...) ripens into a lyric poem when combined with a snippet of vanilla bean, some cream, and a zest for velvet on the tongue."

From "The Store Cookbook" by Bert Greene and Dennis Vaughan. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1974. ISBN 0-8092-8885-0. Pp. 252-254.

Posted by Cathy Harned.

Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-03-94

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