Fig and Pear Vacherin Ice Cream Cake

Here is my latest to-die-for creation: a Roasted Fig and Pear Ice Cream Vacherin Cake, stuffed with a heart of maple-walnut ice cream. Imagine this: the entire structure is built upon not one, but two ethereally crisp disks of French meringue, so delicate they shatter at the mere touch of a spoon. Sandwiched between them is the soul of the dessert—a profound layer of my roasted fig and pear ice cream. The fruit is caramelized until its sugars deepen into a jammy, wine-dark richness before being churned into a velvety, complex base. But the surprise lies at its core: a hidden pocket of maple walnut ice cream, its autumnal sweetness and toasty crunch providing a glorious textural counterpoint to the smooth fruit. The whole magnificent assembly is then enrobed, from its peaked top to its elegant sides, in a billowing cloud of vanilla Chantilly. It’s a study in contrasts: crisp and creamy, fruity and nutty, elegant and utterly decadent. A single slice is nothing short of sublime.

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Here is my latest to-die-for creation 😋

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Freezer Management

Your goal is to create a cold, organized, and efficient environment for freezing layers solidly and quickly. Remove obstacles and toss any old, freezer-burned, or "mystery" items. Always keep 30% free space—it's a fundamental best practice for food safety, appliance longevity, energy savings, and achieving the best possible results for projects like making a perfectly textured ice cream cake.

Meringue

Make meringue disks ahead of time, up to 2 weeks.
Note that the meringue absorbs the humidity released by the cold ice cream (as it slightly melts and releases water vapor). This causes the meringue to become soft instead of staying crisp. The solution is cocoa butter or coconut oil. Brush a thin, melted layer of cocoa butter onto the whole meringue to create an invisible, protective barrier. Store meringue in a sealed freezer bag in a dry storage. Do not refrigerate.

Spreads

After chilling your roasted fig and pear purees, check their consistency. If it is already firm enough to hold a form, you can skip adding the thickening agent.
Mix sugar and agar; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the puree and whisk in the sugar-agar mixture. Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring every so often. Let cool completely, and refrigerate overnight.
Mix spreads with your immersion blender. Keep them ready to use in piping bag. Fruit spreads can be stored for up to a week in the fridge, or keep frozen for 6 months.

Prepare For Immediate Assembly

For optimal texture and structure, frozen desserts must be assembled the same day the ice cream is churned. The ice cream should be used immediately after spinning, while it is still soft and pliable, directly from the ice cream maker or turbine. To facilitate a quick and clean build, ensure all assembly tools are frozen solid beforehand.
This includes: cake rings and molds, sheet trays, ice containers and spatulas, spoons... This prevents the ice cream from melting on contact, allowing for precise layering and sharp, clean edges in the final product.

Vacherin Montage

Quickly fill the frozen tart ring with the freshly churned maple-walnut ice cream. Freeze the walnut ice cream disk for 6 hours until it has hardened enough to be manipulated. De-mold and re-freeze immediately.
Place the cake ring directly over the meringue disk, and press down firmly. The goal is to ensure the ring is sitting flush against the tray, locking the meringue in place so it cannot move. The meringue acts as the bottom of your mold. Repeat.
Lay the frozen maple-walnut ice cream disk over one of the prepared meringue cake ring. Freeze immediately.
Next, churn the roasted pear ice cream custard mixture.
Spread pear ice cream evenly inside the cake ring, on top of the walnut ice cream disk and meringue base. Fill it to the top of the ring and use your frozen offset spatula to smooth the surface perfectly flat. Transfer ice cream cake into the freezer.
Next, churn the roasted fig ice cream custard mixture.
Fill the second prepared frozen meringue cake ring.
Smooth the surface perfectly flat, and freeze overnight.

Un-molding Frozen Ice Cream Cakes

In order to remove cake ring safely, gently run your hair dryer arround. De-mold both cakes and refreeze them immediately onto the same frozen trays.

Vacherin Cake Assembly

Whip the chilled ganache montée to a medium-soft Chantilly.
Pipe some Chantilly over the fig ice cream cake to seal the other cake on top.
Gently press to ensure the cake is leveled.
Distribute more Chantilly around the sides, and smooth evenly with a spatula.
Then finish the cake sides with a toothed cake scraper to give a fancy touch. Decorate cake artfully with Chantilly rosettes, and freeze.

Vacherin Storage

Once the vacherin cake is finished, it can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. Upon frozen, it could also be portioned and wrapped in cling film.

How To Serve Vacherin

Prepare the fruits. Decorate the frozen cake with fig and pear wedges artfully. Some red fruits can be added too. Pipe generous dots of fruit spreads here and there. Place vacherin in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Bon appétit!