Mini-bûche with apricots

Steps

for the biscuit

• Preheat the oven at 180°C
• Add the egg yolk into a bowl
• Start beating it as an omelet with an electric hand mixer
• Add half the sugar and a pinch of honey, slowly and by batches, and keep beating until you get a nice yellow cream
• Sieve on top of the cream the corn flour, slowly and by batches, and after each addition continue beating a low speed until the corn flour is absorbed by the batter
• Repeat the same thing with the flour
• Start beating the egg white to make soft peaks
• Add the egg white into a metal bowl with a pinch of salt
• - Start beating the egg white and once it starts to have some volume, add the rest of the sugar by batches, keep beating, at the end you will have a nice stiff meringue
• Get some meringue and add it to the batter
• Stir gently to smooth up the batter
• Add the rest of the meringue by batches and stir gently after each addition
• Draw a square of 18cm x 18cm onto some parchment paper
• Place the parchment paper onto a tray going to the oven
• Pour the batter on top to cover the square and soften the top as to have the same thickness everywhere
• Bake for 8’
• Let the biscuit cool onto a rack

for the whisky syrup

• Add the water and the sugar into a small casserole

• Bring the heat up and boil until the sugar dissolves into the water
• Remove from heat and let it cool
• Once cold, add the whisky and stir well :-) the syrup is ready!

for the Italian meringue

• Add the egg white and a small pinch of salt into a metal bowl
• Start beating the egg using an electric hand mixer and half way add ½ teaspoon of caster sugar
• Stop beating before the egg forms a stiff meringue
• Add the sugar and the water into a small casserole
• Start boiling and stir well with a whisk
• Continue to beat the egg until it forms a stiff meringue
• Stop boiling the syrup when its temperature attains 120°C
• Pour the syrup slowly onto the egg white, while taking cake that it touches the metal bowl
• Continue to beat after each addition
• If you are using the pistachio paste, add it to the meringue and continue to beat until it is absorbed by the meringue
• Once you finished with pouring the syrup, keep beating until the meringue gets cold

for bringing everything together

• Wash the apricots and slice them in small dices but big enough like your index nail
• Slice the biscuit in a way to have a rectangle of 16cm x 18cm
• Remove gently the remaining biscuit and keep them for breakfast or tea time
• Turn the biscuit upside down and remove gently the parchment paper
• Turn the biscuit upside down again in a way, that the smooth side where the parchment paper laid is facing the dish
• Pour the syrup over the biscuit covering all its surface
• Spread evenly and all over the apricot jam
• Spread evenly the dices of apricots on the top side of the biscuit
• Slice roughly with a knife the pistachios and sprinkle them over the apricots
• Preheat the oven at 240°C
• Add gently the meringue into a piping bag with a star tip of 10mm Ø
• Roll the biscuit towards you and quite tight but gently enough to avoid losing the fruits
• Place the dessert gently in a tray going to the oven and covered with parchment paper
• Cover the dessert with the Italian meringue by forming stripes from one side to the other, starting at first at the top and then on the sides
• Place the dessert into the oven for 2’ until the meringue gets some golden brown color
• Get the dessert out of the oven and place it gently into a serving dish
• Let them cool a little
• Slice roughly some unsalted shelled pistachios and sprinkle them on top
• Place the dessert into the refrigerator and get a piece the same day or the day after

Inspiration

The recipe for the mini-bûche with strawberries that can also be found in this book Faites votre Pâtisserie comme Lenôtre, Le livre culte enfin réédité, Flammarion, Paris, 2020, p. 158.

You need to know that Lenôtre (besides being the gardener of Louis XIV), is the name of a famous French Pastry Chef called Gaston Lenôtre who invented a famous dessert called Opéra and founded an empire!