Toasted Coconut Dacquoise With Orange Pineapple Ice Cream Food

TOASTED COCONUT DACQUOISE WITH ORANGE PINEAPPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Prepare ice cream:
• Cut rind from pineapple half, then squeeze juice from rind with your hands into a bowl. Pour juice through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Core pineapple, then finely chop pineapple flesh and chill, covered, until ready to use.
• Bring cream, milk, sugar, and salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Whisk eggs in a bowl until blended, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Transfer custard back to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 175 to 180°F on thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes (do not let boil).
• Immediately pour through sieve into cleaned bowl and stir in zest, orange and lemon juices, and reserved pineapple juice. Cool custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then chill, its surface covered with a round of wax paper, until cold, about 3 hours.
• Make meringues while custard chills:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spread coconut evenly in a shallow baking pan and toast in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.
• Reduce oven to 200°F.
• Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment and, using removable bottom of springform pan as a template, trace 3 circles on parchment (2 on 1 sheet and 1 on other). Turn parchment over (circles will be visible through paper).
• Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to beat until meringue holds stiff glossy peaks, about 5 minutes. Fold coconut into meringue, then spoon half into pastry bag. Holding bag perpendicular to and 1 inch above parchment, pipe meringue evenly into parchment circles in a spiral, beginning in center of each and ending just inside traced line. (Refill bag with meringue as needed.)
• Bake meringues in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until dry to the touch, very pale, and crisp, about 2 hours total. (On rainy days, it may be necessary to bake meringues longer.) Slide meringues (on parchment) onto racks and cool completely. Peel paper from meringues.
• Freeze custard while meringues bake:
• Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer to a bowl and stir in chilled chopped pineapple. If not using immediately, transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer.
• Assemble dacquoise:
• Line bottom of springform pan with a round of wax paper. Trim edges of meringues with a knife, if necessary, to fit into pan. Place 1 meringue, flat side down, in bottom of pan. Spread meringue evenly with half of ice cream, then top with another meringue, pressing it gently into ice cream. Spread meringue evenly with remaining ice cream, then cover with remaining meringue, flat side down, pressing it gently into ice cream. Wrap pan with plastic wrap and freeze until dacquoise is firm, at least 2 hours.
• About 20 minutes before serving, remove dacquoise from pan (discard wax paper) and transfer to a serving plate, then put in refrigerator to soften.

TOASTED COCONUT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread 3 cups flaked coconut onto a baking sheet.
• Bake coconut in the preheated oven, turning once, until toasted, 6 to 10 minutes. Cool completely.
• Beat sugar and eggs together in a bowl until light and frothy; add cream of coconut and beat well. Add half-and-half and vanilla extract into egg mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir toasted coconut and flaked coconut into half-and-half mixture.
• Pour coconut mixture into the bowl of an ice-cream maker. Pour milk into coconut mixture to fill machine to the fill-line, if necessary. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

COCONUT-PINEAPPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Mix cream of coconut, half-and-half, chopped pineapple, pineapple juice, coconut flakes, and coconut extract together in a large bowl.
• Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process until thickened according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer mixture to an airtight container, and place in the freezer for about 3 hours or until firm.

ORANGE-CHOCOLATE DACQUOISE

Steps:

• To make the meringue layers, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Generously butter and flour two cookie sheets. Shake extra flour from sheets. Trace three circles about eight inches in diameter on them.
• Place egg whites in a large bowl, add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff. Add another 1/4 cup sugar to the ground almonds and, reserving 1/3 cup of the mixture, fold the rest into the egg whites.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain (No. 3) tip with the egg-white mixture, and pipe circles following the patterns on the cookie sheets, working from the outside toward the center. Smooth any missed spaces with a spatula. Pipe or spoon extra mixture in dollops on cookie sheets.
• Bake the meringues in the middle of the oven, rotating for even cooking, for 55 to 75 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly colored. Remove from the oven and run a long, thin-bladed knife or spatula carefully under the meringues. If they are not firm, return to oven and check again in five-minute increments. Once firm, transfer them to cake racks. They will become crisper when cooled.
• For the orange segments, remove and mince the orange zest. Set aside. Remove as much pith as possible and carefully separate the fruit into segments without breaking the membranes.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and stir in the vegetable oil. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then dip each orange segment halfway into the chocolate, letting extra chocolate drip back into the pan. Place the segments on wax paper to harden. Once hardened, cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
• To prepare the buttercream, place egg whites in a large metal mixing bowl and set over (not touching) boiling water. Using a wire whisk, beat, while gradually adding sugar, until the mixture is slightly thickened and reaches 105 degrees on an instant-read or candy thermometer.
• Immediately remove bowl from the heat and begin beating the mixture with an electric mixer. Continue to beat while gradually adding pieces of butter. Beat until the mixture reaches room temperature and thickens into the consistency of stiff filling - about 10 to 15 minutes. (The buttercream will look ugly and you will think that it won't come together. Keep beating. It will!)
• Meanwhile, add the six ounces of chocolate and tablespoon of water to the double boiler used for the garnish. Let it all melt, then add the orange extract, zest, Grand Marnier and salt, and stir to blend. Stir in half a cup of the buttercream and beat until chocolate is smooth. Scrape the mixture into the bowl of buttercream and mix well. Refrigerate for 10 to 20 minutes.
• To assemble the dacquoise, save the best meringue for the top. Put a small amount of buttercream in the center of a dessert plate, or a cardboard circle on a turntable, and place a meringue over it. Spread a generous quarter of the filling over this, making it a little thicker toward the outside.
• Gently place the second meringue on top, pushing down lightly, and spread another fourth of the filling. Add the final meringue layer and cover the top and sides of the dacquoise with another fourth of the buttercream.
• Crumble the reserved pieces of meringue and combine them with the sugar-nut mixture. Pat this around the sides of the dacquoise. Arrange the chocolate-dipped orange segments on top like spokes of a wheel and pipe the remaining buttercream through a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, making rosettes on the outside edge. Refrigerate, uncovered, until an hour before serving.

TOASTED COCONUT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• toast coconut on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes at 350, stirring occasionally.
• heat milk and 1 cup of cream with sugar and salt until steaming.
• add coconut and vanilla bean (scrape vanilla out and add the pod as well as the vanilla), cover and remove from heat. steep 1 hour.
• reheat and strain the mixture, discarding coconut and vanilla bean pod.
• whisk eggs and stream into milk mixture, whisking.
• heat over medium heat until it coats the back of a spoon and strain
• stir in additional cream and extract.
• chill until very cold.
• freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions.