This was Nougat glacé.
It's a frozen dessert from Province, France made with Italian meringue, whipped cream, dried fruit and caramelized nuts. The recipe by a Japanese pastry chef, Rumi Kojima that I adapted use honey. Nuts were pistachio, almond, and hazelnuts. Dried fruits were cranberries, apricot and golden and green raisins.
It was easy to make. And I can make it a day before and whenever the dessert time comes, just take it out from the freezer and cut. Convenience for a party or anytime when you would like sweets without efforts!
After the first nibble, I bet everyone would be hooked with the unique airy creamy texture that Italian meringue and lightly whipped cream magically create. And you will enjoy having a bite of light crunchy caramelized nuts. But I found some dried fruits (cranberry and some raisins) too hard like a stone! Apricot was somehow fine, keeping itself just chewy. I have to work on a right selection of kinds of dried fruits next time. Overall, Nougat glacé looks more elegant and sophisticated than ordinal ice cream. Without sponge cake, tart or pie dough, it's light. And it's definitely cool, so refreshing. Suitable even after a heavy meal. Perfect for a person like me who can't complete a dinner without sweets no matter how much the tummy is full. Tres bon!
