Champagne chiboust

Justin North began his career in his native New Zealand before travelling to England to work with renowned chef Raymond Blanc. This recipe is an excerpt of his beautifully illustrated book French Lessons which is a guide to mastering French cooking

serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes
Setting time 4 hours

5g gelatine sheets
210ml milk
2 egg yolks
20g cornflour
120g caster sugar
3 egg whites
50ml champagne

✱ Soak the gelatine in a large bowl of cold water for 5–10 minutes to soften. Drain and squeeze out as much excess water as you can.

✱ Combine the milk, egg yolks and cornflour in a heavy-based saucepan and add a tablespoon of the sugar. Bring to a simmer, whisking continuously.

✱ Place the egg whites in a scrupulously clean electric mixer with the rest of the sugar and whisk to soft peaks.

✱ Dissolve the gelatine in the hot milk then quickly whisk in a third of the meringue and all the champagne. When completely amalgamated, gently fold in the remaining meringue and spoon into a piping bag.

✱ Arrange 4 x 8 cm pastry rings on a tray. Pipe the chiboust into the rings then transfer to the refrigerator to set for about 4 hours.

✱ When ready to serve, remove the chibousts from the refrigerator and toast the surface of each with a small kitchen blowtorch, so that they resemble toasted marshmallows. Carefully unmould and place on the centre of dessert plates. Serve straight away with your choice of accompaniment.

Originally published in FrenchEntrée Magazine

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