A TOAST TO ICEWINE
Photos courtesy Inniskillin/Stephen Dominick
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Icewine is an intense, concentrated wine made from grapes that have naturally frozen while still on the vine.
Most people think harvest will happen with the first frost; however, consistent temperatures of –8 C or colder are needed to freeze the natural water inside the grapes to meet VQA standards and be called icewine. This may take quite some time since grapes are 80 per cent water.
Once frozen, the water inside the grapes turns into ice crystals leaving a few drops of juice, which is highly concentrated. When pressed, the ice chards inside the grape penetrate the grape skins adding more flavour to the extracted juice.
While icewine may be enjoyed on its own or as a complement to a meal, it was originally used as a dessert wine.
BOSC PEAR MOUSSE WITH CHOCOLATE BISCUIT AND CARAMEL SAUCE
Makes one 10 x 15 dessert. Serve individual squares of pear mousse biscuit with a drizzle of caramel sauce. Dessert pairs well with chilled Riesling or Oak-Aged Vidal Icewine.
Chocolate Biscuit
6 oz (170 g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (250 ml) unsalted butter
5 eggs, separated
3 tbsp (45 ml) sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) all-purpose flour
Pear Mousse
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 cups (500 ml) milk
1 tbsp (15 ml) gelatine
4 pounds (1.8 kg) Bosc pears
Juice from 1 lemon
4 cups (1 L) water
2/3 cup (160 ml) sugar
2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) whipping cream, whipped
Caramel Sauce
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) water
1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy cream
Directions
Butter a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll style pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
For chocolate biscuit, melt chocolate with butter in bowl over simmer water. Set aside to cool to lukewarm. Beat egg yolks with sugar. Add melted chocolate, sift in flour. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and gently fold into chocolate mixture. Pour mixture into prepared pan (should have a thin layer) and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until slightly springy on top to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
For pear mousse, soften gelatine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Make custard by whisking together egg yolks and sugar. Split vanilla bean in half and scrape seeds from half the bean into yolk mixture. In a saucepan, bring milk to a boil over medium heat. When bubbles appear around the edges of the milk, slowly pour approximately 1/4 cup of milk into yolk mixture, whisking vigorously. Slowly add more milk, whisking with each addition until half the milk is used. Now pour the milk-egg yolk mixture back into the milk on the stove and heat over very low heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens, approximately 6 minutes. Do not let boil. Remove from heat and add softened gelatine. Stir and set aside to cool.
Peel, core and half pears, rubbing with half of lemon to prevent discolouration. In a saucepan over high heat, add water, sugar, remaining lemon juice and seeds scraped from the remaining half of vanilla bean. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Poach 3 of the pears in the sugar syrup. When tender, dice finely and place in strainer to drain.
Slice remaining pears, sauté over medium heat in lemon juice until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Cool and puree.
Stir pear puree and diced pears into custard mixture. Refrigerate until it starts to set. Fold in whipped cream. Lay the biscuit on a rectangular platter and spread pear mousse overtop, smoothing top evenly. Refrigerate to set completely.
For caramel sauce, boil water and sugar together over high heat until caramelized. Take pan off the heat, let bubbles subside and slowly add cream standing back as it bubbles vigorously. Reheat until caramel is smooth, stirring constantly. Let cool. Makes 1 cup.
Recipe provided by Izabela Kalabis, the resident chef at Inniskillin.
