Poached Apples
2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Port wine
3 3-inch cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
3 Granny Smith apples

Fruit Soup
2 Granny Smith apples
1/2 pint blueberries, stemmed and washed
1/2 pint strawberries, stemmed
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

Crispy Apple Cake Croutons
1/4 pound plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 Granny Smith apple
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Jonny’s Hard Cider Ice Cream

Equipment: Measuring cups, measuring spoons, 3-quart saucepan,
kitchen spoon, paring knife, corer, cutting board, medium gauge
strainer, 3-quart stainless steel bowl, plastic wrap, 5-quart stainless
steel bowl, food processor with metal blade, 1-quart noncorrosive
container, 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan, sifter, wax paper, electric
mixer with paddle, rubber spatula, nonstick baking sheet, tooth-
pick, serrated slicer, slotted kitchen spoon, ice cream scoop

Poach the apples

Heat 2 cups cranberry juice cocktail, 1 cup sugar, Port wine, cinnamon
sticks, and cloves in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When
hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat and
allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
While the cranberry juice mixture is simmering, peel, core, and halve 3
Granny Smith apples. Place the peeled apple halves into the simmering
liquid. Adjust the heat as necessary to allow the apple halves to poach
slowly for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes (a spicy potpourri
aroma will fill your kitchen during the simmering of the apples). Remove
from the heat and allow the apples to steep in the poaching liquid for 1
hour at room temperature. Transfer the apples to a 3-quart stainless
steel bowl. Strain the poaching liquid over the apples (discard the
cinnamon sticks and whole cloves). Cover the top with plastic wrap
and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Prepare the fruit soup

Peel, core, quarter, and chop 2 Granny Smith apples into 1/4-inch pieces.
Heat the chopped apples, blueberries, strawberries, 1 cup cranberry juice
cocktail, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/8 cup lemon juice in a 3-quart saucepan
over medium-high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve the sugar.
Bring the fruit and juice mixture to a boil, then adjust the heat and allow
to simmer for 20 to 22 minutes, until the liquid is slightly thickened.
Remove from the heat and cool in an ice-water bath to a temperature
of 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the cooled mixture in the bowl
of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until smooth and
frothy, about 2 minutes (this should yield 3 cups). Transfer the fruit soup
to a noncorrosive container, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate
until ready to serve.

Prepare the crispy apple cake croutons

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightly coat the insides of a 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon
butter. Flour the pan with 1 teaspoon flour and shake out the excess. Set
aside.
In a stainless steel bowl, acidulate 1 cup of water with the lemon juice.
Peel, core, quarter, and chop 1 Granny Smith apple into 1/4-inch pieces
and immediately place in the acidulated water. Set aside.
Combine together in a sifter 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. Baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Sift onto wax paper and set aside.
Place the remaining 1/4 pound butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an
electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on medium for 3 minutes. Scrape
down the sides of the bowl. Mix on high for an additional 2 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating
on high for 30 seconds and scraping down the sides of the bowl after
each. Add the vanilla extract and beat on high for 30 seconds. Drain and
rinse the chopped apples. Add the chopped apples and beat on medium
for 30 seconds. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix on low for 30
seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to
finish mixing the batter until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Immediately pour the apple cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place
the loaf pan on a baking sheet on the center rack of the preheated oven
and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out
clean, about 40 to 42 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven. Allow
the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and
allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.

To serve

Cut the cake into 1-inch-thick slices. Trim the crust from the cake slices.
Cut the slices into 1-inch cubes. Toast the cake cubes on a nonstick baking sheet in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until golden brown, about
15 to 18 minutes. Keep the croutons warm while assembling the dessert.
Portion 1/2 cup chilled fruit soup into each of six 9- to 10-inch soup plates.
Remove the poached apples from the refrigerator. Use a slotted spoon to remove the apples from the poaching liquid (discard the liquid). Cut each
half into a quarter. Make a fan out of each quarter: cut 1/4-inch slices from
end to end, then gently press down on the slices to produce a fan effect.
Place a fan of sliced apples to the left and right of the center of the plate,
then place a large scoop of Jonny’s Hard Cider Ice Cream into the center, between the apples. Sprinkle a few croutons onto each portion.
Serve immediately.

The Chef’s Touch

"My first encounter with the diverting concept of soup as dessert occurred a
few years ago at Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley. Invited by vintner Jack
Cakebread and his wife Dolores, I joined four other chefs in a wine country
culinary exposition called An American Harvest Workshop. We spent our
days gathering the best foods of Napa and Sonoma county farms, returning
in the evening to the winery’s kitchen to prepare dinner for sixty to eighty
people. On one night, noted Atlanta chef Guenter Seeger of the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead [Chef Seeger now has his own restaurant, Seeger’s, in Atlanta]
intrigued the diners with a grape soup with cabernet and Cognac parfait. It
was an extraordinary dessert. Later, I encouraged our pastry chef to develop
a dessert soup for one of the Trellis’ preview dinners.
This particular recipe for Chilled Fruit Soup with Poached Apples and Crispy Croutons was developed specifically for this book by my assistant, Jon Pierre
Peavey. Jon Pierre has, I believe, brought together an amalgam of tastes and
textures that play off each other like the players in a good string quartet do.
The poached apples may be prepared several days in advance of serving the
Chilled Fruit Soup. Keep the apples, covered by the strained poaching liquid,
refrigerated in a noncorrosive container.
The Chilled Fruit Soup is best served within forty-eight hours of preparation.
Although the apple cake may be baked several hours (even a day) ahead, it is
best to wait until just a few minutes before serving the dessert to cut the apple
cake and bake the croutons. To make life simpler, the cake can be baked, allowed
to cool, and then covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until ready to serve
the dessert. At that time, the croutons can be cut and toasted as described in
the recipe.
A rather subjective beverage choice to accompany the Chilled Fruit Soup would
be a 1984 Cakebread Cellars Rutherford Reserve. (Good luck finding this wine.
You may need to give Jack a call at Cakebread – he may still have a bottle or
two on hand.) A late harvest zinfandel would also do nicely."
 

Cooking