Blanc-manger is a simple French dessert and easy to make but it is a classic. This is one of the desserts I learned when I was training as a cook in the restaurant and also it was popular at the time. You can serve with different fruits depend on seasonal market availability. Blanc-manger can be made a day or two in advance and decorate with fruits just before serving. I personally enjoy having Blanc-manger in summer season with fresh berries. Well chilled Blanc-manger is a treat in hot summer.
Here is the interesting story of Blanc-manger by Dorie Greenspan, in her wonderful dessert book, Paris Sweets: Larousse Gastronomique, a bible of French cuisine, explains that blanc-manger may be one of the oldest dessert in repertory, since it dates from the middle ages (when it was made either with honey and almonds or with gelée that developed when cooking capon or veal). What it doesn’t mention is that, the start of this millenium, it is one of the most popular desserts–again. Part cream, part jelly (like French version of panna cotta or, dare I say it, Jell-O?) and molded and served like a cake, the blanc-manger of today is a mixture of ground almonds and milk fortified with gelatin, smoothed with whipped cream, and often , as this one is, studded with morsels of fruit. It is a cake that can be varied with the season– it is excellent made with red berries in summer, pineapple or mango in winter, or premium-quality canned fruits when the greenmarkets’ fruit stands are bare–and one that can be served after any meal, dressy or casual, hearty or light. Blanc-manger is made in traditional 8-inch (20-cm) cake pan, but you can make it in a springform if that suits you better, or even in a fancy gelatin mold, the kind with all the nooks and crannies.
I like Blanc-manger serve with individual glass dish but of course you can make a cake like as a traditional way. This my recipe, I used shredded coconut instead of ground almonds to make tropical flavor.
- 2 cups (500ml) whole milk or coconut milk
- 6 ounces (180g) shredded sweetened coconut, grounded
- 1 cups (225ml) heavy cream
- 4 ounces (115g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons white rum or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 packet (2½ teaspoons) or 4 gelatin sheets (8g)
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- Decor/Garnish on top
- Pineapple, raspberries, blueberry, mango, peach, red current etc.
- Have ready a 8x2-inch round cake pan or springform pan, preferably nonstick (or glass bowl). Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water and set out a smaller bowl fits into this ice-water bath.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. When it is soft and spongy, heat it for 15 seconds in a microwave to liquefy it, set aside.
- Whip the chilled heavy cream until it holds medium-firm peaks; place in refrigerator.
- Bling milk, coconuts and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to make certain the sugar dissolves. At the boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dissolved gelatin, as well as the rum or vanilla, if you are using. Pour this into the set-aside small bowl and place the bowl into ice-water bath. Stir regularly, and lift the bowl out of the ice bath as soon as the mixture cools and starts to thicken.
- Working with a flexible rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream. Still working with the spatula and gently, fold in some diced fruits. Transfer the blanc-manger into the pan or bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for up to 24 hours.
- To serve, unmold the cake onto a cake plate (if you have used a cake pan, the easiest way to unmold the blanc-manger is to dunk the pan into a large bowl of hot water or use hair-dryer.)
- Decorate top of the cake with your favorite fresh fruits.
- Once assembled, the blanc-manger can be stored in the refrigerator, away from food with strong odors, for 1 day.
