This is part performance art and part dessert. I enjoy making this, eating it, and most of all beholding the looks of astonishment from guests as I place a hot cast-iron skillet on a bowl full of ice cream topped with sugar-dusted cherries. Everyone holds their breath as I wield the hot iron. Trepidation gives way to smiles, as the sweet clouds of burnt sugar, singed ripe cherries, and vanilla notes of the ice cream meet. Few things are certain in this life – the impact of this dessert is one of them. Use pot holders!
Ingredients
- 945ml vanilla ice cream
- 280g cherries, halved and pitted
- 4 tablespoons sugar, plus more if needed
- a handful of fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Serves: 6
Method
At least 8 hours before serving, pack the ice cream into a 5-cup (1L) heatproof and freezer-safe serving bowl or other container, cover, and place in the freezer.
Half an hour before serving, take the bowl of ice cream out of the freezer so the ice cream softens a little. Combine the cherries and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl to macerate. Prepare a fire for medium-high heat, set a grate over it, and heat a cast-iron skillet on the grate. If cooking indoors, heat it on the stovetop over medium-high heat.
Arrange the cherries in a layer on top of the ice cream and sprinkle them evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Using a heavy-duty pot holder, position the hot skillet over the cherries and lower it onto them for about 10 seconds, or until the sugar melts and caramelises the cherries. Set the hot pan aside. The caramelized cherries will melt into the ice cream and soften it enough to scoop it into individual serving bowls.
Garnish with the mint.
Recipe extracted from Green Fire
by Francis Mallmann
RRP $99.99, Artisan Books,
Distributed by bookreps.co.nz
