Apricot Gratins with Almond and Kirsch

Title:
Apricot Gratins with Almond and Kirsch

Yield:
6 Servings

Categories:
Desserts,
Ethnic




Ingredients:





     1 c  Sugar


   1/2 c  Honey


     1    Vanilla bean


 2 1/2 c  Water


 2 1/2 c  Fresh apricots





----------------------------------TOPPING----------------------------------


   3/4 c  Powdered sugar


 1 1/4 c  Almond flour


    10 tb Butter; softened


     2    Egg yolks


     1    Whole egg


   1/4 c  Slivered almonds


     3 tb Kirsch



----------------------------------GARNISH----------------------------------


          Fresh mint


          Powdered sugar in shaker





 Prehaet the oven to 425 degrees.  In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, honey,


 vanilla bean and water. Bring the liquid to a boil. Add the apricots and


 bring back to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Invert a saucer on top of the


 fruit to keep it submerged.


   Cover the saucepan and let stand for 24 hours. During the marinating, the


 pits will impart an almond flavor to the apricots and their syrup. Drain


 the fruit, reserving the syrup and being careful not to crsuh the apricots.


 Halve the apricots. Remove and discard the pits. Place 4-5 apricot halves


 in the bottom of each gratin dish , so they cover the bottom of the dish,


 PLace the remaining apricots in a food processor with apricot syrup and


 puree until smooth. For the topping: Combine 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar,


 the almond powder, butter, egg yolks, and the whole egg in a mixinf bowl


 and beat with a whisk until smooth. Divide the batter among the 6 gratin


 dishes and spread evenly over the apricots. Sprinkle the top with the


 slivered almonds and remaining powdered sugar. Place the gratins in the


 oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Bring the puree witht he Kirsch up to a


 simmer. Remove gratins from the oven and place one on each plate. Garnish


 with puree, powdered sugar and fresh mint.


 


 Source: Essence of Emeril, #2327, TVFN formatted by Lisa Crawford, 4/28/96


 


 From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini