CookDiaries

Since ice cream is a seasonal product in Paris, during the summer months top pastry chefs also stock their patisserie boutiques with ice cream selections. This is a desirable business move for chefs, who are also impacted by climate change and the necessity to create items fit for a longer hot season than before, as it is very difficult to eat sugary sweets during extreme heat.
As summer approached, the opulent Hotel de Crillon in Concorde Square decided to partake in the ice cream festival as well. At the hotel’s entrance, a small Caribbean-style beach area was created, complete with deck chairs, beach décor, and, most importantly, ice cream created by pastry chef Matthieu Carlin, who oversees the pastry department.

Chef Carlin graciously agreed to share the recipe for his masterpiece with me in honor of the complex’s launch. The dessert is referred to by Carlin as “Cookie Glacé,” which is ice cream cookie. The dish includes a vanilla ice cream disc, a pecan chocolate cookie with salted caramel, and crispy roasted pecans coated in chocolate.

Chocolate Covered Ice cream Caramel Cookie Ingredients

Chocolate Pecan Cookies:

* 40g butter, softened
* 45g light brown sugar
* 25g eggs (around half medium egg)
* 60g flour, sifted
* 2g baking soda powder
* Pinch of salt
* 30g roasted pecans, chopped
* 25g dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate (70%-80%)

Vanilla Ice Cream:

* 400ml Vanilla ice cream – you can make it yourself if you have an ice cream machine, or buy it like me.

Salted Caramel:

* 40g sugar
* 5g glucose syrup (possible)
* 60g heavy whipping cream
* 10g butter in room temp’ (cut to small cubes)
* Pinch of salt, I use Fleur-de-Sel

Chocolate Pecan Glacage:

* 175g dark chocolate, chopped
* 175g milk chocolate, chopped
* 100g Canola oil
* 75g roasted pecans, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Set the oven’s temperature to 230C.
2. To make Chocolate Pecan Cookies, whisk butter and sugar in a medium-sized basin until the mixture is light and creamy. Mix in the egg.
3. Include the salt, baking powder, and flour. Mix until a soft dough forms.
4. Add the chocolate and pecan chunks and stir. Put in the fridge for fifteen minutes.
5. Split the dough into six 35g balls. Press the dough balls into a uniform layer using a silicone disc mold or oiled tart rings on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
6. Don’t overbake the cookies; bake them for only 4-5 minutes, or until they are just beginning to turn brown.
7. Take the cookies out of the oven, and while they are still hot, make a sort of socket in them if the frame is still high. You could use, for instance, the bottom of a tiny cup. After cooling to room temperature, take the mold and rings out.
8. Using the same mold and cookie rings (I just wipe the cookie rings and use them for ice cream), create six slices of vanilla ice cream. Freeze the ice cream (for at least two hours) after pressing it into molds or rings to create an equal layer.
9. Salted Caramel: Heat the sugar and glucose (if using) in a medium-sized, heavy-duty pot until the mixture melts and turns into a brown, amber liquid.
10. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan.
11. Pour the boiling cream through a sieve into the caramel pot once the sugar has converted into caramel. Take note! The caramel bubbles up and becomes frothy. To prevent the caramel from sliding, it is advisable to take the pot off of the heat source for a little period of time. Put the
    mixture back on the heat source and stir for a few more seconds until the cream becomes smooth.
12. Turn off the heat, then add the butter and salt, blending until smooth. Using a blender rod to mill the caramel mixture will result in an extremely smooth texture.

ASSEMBLING

1. Cookies should be placed on a chopping board covered with parchment paper. Then, fill each cookie to the top with salted caramel. For a few minutes, freeze.
2. After removing the ice cream slices from the mold or rings, lay them on a parchment paper-lined cutting board, top each slice with a popsicle stick, and put them back in the freezer for a little while.
3. When the popsicle stick is positioned between the two discs and adheres to the caramel, it is time to match the ice cream to the cookie. Place a piece of ice cream on top of each cookie. Gently tighten, then freeze (for at least two hours).
4. For the Chocolate Pecan Glacage, melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler, take it off the heat, and then whisk in the oil until it’s smooth. When the mixture is long and narrow enough to accommodate the Ice Cream Cookie, add the chopped pecans and stir.
5. Each Ice Cream Cookie should be dipped in the glacage and then placed on a parchment paper-lined cutting board. Freeze until ready to enjoy.