Cream Buns with Elderberry Coulis
This beautiful dessert takes full advantage of the rich color of elderberry coulis. You must use fresh elderberries to get the deep color and flavor. The coulis is spooned into split cream buns and drizzled around the plates, which are garnished with sautéed diced apples. Cinnamon ice cream accents the flavor of the elderberries. The muffin skillet used by Chef Weinwurm resembles a cast iron skillet with four shallow 3- to 4-inch cups indented in the surface; he fills the cups completely, then places the entire skillet in the oven to bake them. You could use a “muffin top” pan, as these also have shallow indentations.
Ingredients
- Cinnamon Ice Cream
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 2 cups
- Egg Yolks - 3
- Sugar - 1/2 cup
- Cinnamon Sticks - 2, broken in half
- Vanilla bean - 1
- Buns
- Sour Cream - 1/2 cup
- Eggs - 4, separated
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 2 tablespoons
- Flour - 3/4 cup
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon
- Grated zest of 1/4 orange
- Elderberry Coulis
- Fresh Elderberries - 1-1/4 pounds, stemmed and washed
- Sugar - 1/2 cup
- Red Wine - 1/2 cup
- Cinnamon Stick - 1, broken
- Zest of 1/4 orange
- Vanilla bean - 1
- Honey - 1 tablespoon
- Garnish
- Granny Smith apples - 2
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Unsalted Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
- Dried Cinnamon Bread Sticks - 36, thin (optional)
Instructions
To make the ice cream: Mix 2 tablespoons of the cream with the egg yolks. Put the remaining cream, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a deep saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the mixture; drop in the pods. Bring the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat and briskly whisk in the egg yolks. Let cool to room temperature, strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl, and cover with plastic wrapping, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the custard. Chill at least 1 hour. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Store in a sealed container in the freezer.
To make the buns: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the sour cream, egg yolks, cream, and flour in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy; slowly add the sugar and beat to very soft peaks. Fold into the yolk mixture. Add the grated rind. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and set aside to rest in a cool place.
Coat a shallow muffin skillet with butter and spoon batter into the molds. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, then remove from the muffin pan. Repeat to bake all 12 buns.
To make the coulis: Put the elderberries in a pot with the sugar, wine, cinnamon pieces, and zest. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the pot; drop in the pods. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook 20 minutes, until the berries have completely softened. Remove from heat and let cool. Lift out the vanilla bean pods and stir in the honey.
To prepare the garnish: Cut the apples in half. Pare and core them. Cut into medium dice. Toss with the lemon juice. Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add the apple dice. Sauté just until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
To serve: Split the buns in half horizontally. Place the bottom of a bun off-center on each plate and top with elderberry coulis. Scatter some apple dice on each plate and add dots of apple sauté juice. Drizzle a little elderberry coulis, juice only, around the plate. Lean the top of a bun against each bottom with its coulis. Sprinkle the buns and plates with confectioner’s sugar. Place a scoop of ice cream next to the bun on each serving plate. Optionally, stand three dried cinnamon bread sticks, teepee-style, over each ice cream scoop.
