Sweet and sour orange meets sweet nutty almond and floral lavender in a variety of temperatures and textures in this fun dessert. Though nothing in this is hard to make on its own, there are a lot of components. Thankfully many can be prepared in advance for an easy assembly and serving. I like to make everything but the marshmallow topping up a day or two in advance.
Heat water, alulose, stevia, salt, and zest, if using. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer syrup for 5 minutes.
Strain the syrup into a glass container and add the lemon juice, oil (if using instead of zest), and extract. Refrigerate overnight.
Whip egg white to stiff peaks. Add to the refrigerated lemon mixture just before freezing according to manufacturer’s instructions. When set, spoon into small half sphere molds and freeze until completely set, at least 2 hours. Make these before the almond ice cream so that you can unmold and set them into half spheres of ice cream.
For the Almond Ice Cream
Add all the ice cream ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions.
Once churned, spoon into large half sphere molds so that they are 3/4 full. Freeze for a couple of minutes and then unmold the orange sorbet and press it into the soft ice cream. They should fill the large half sphere mold. Freeze until completely set, at least 3 hours and preferably overnight.
For the Honeycomb
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine the allulose, inulin, and water in a large pot (you will want to use a very large pot as the mixture bubbles vigorously and can easily overflow). Simmer until lightly golden but not dark. Stir in color and salt.
Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will bubble and rise. Quickly pour onto Stir in baking soda off heat (will be lots of bubbles). Pour onto a prepared tray and let stand until cool before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. This candy gets sticky and will melt if exposed to moisture.
For the Orange Gel
Sprinkle the agar over 1/3 cup of water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat and stir in sweetener, salt, remaining 1/3 cup water, lemon juice, orange extract and/or oil and whisk to combine.
Pour into a shallow pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until set.
Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth (I like to use an immersion blender). Transfer to a squeeze bottle or ziplock bag and store covered for up to 4 days.
For the Almond Tuiles
Whisk together all tulle ingredients until smooth. Use a spoon to transfer to a tuile mold and spread with a knife, bench scraper, or offset spatula, making sure excess batter is wiped away. Bake for 6 min at 350ºF and then carefully remove the tuiles from the mold. Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
For the Lavender Candied Almonds:
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine the monk fruit, butter, and salt in a small pot. Heat on medium until the mixture is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in lavender, color, and gin. When completely mixed, add the almonds and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to prepared tray and spread across the parchment to allow the almonds to cool completely before storing covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.
For the Marshmallow Fluff
Prepare this the day you plan on serving the dessert. Combine the allulose and water in a small pot and bring to a simmer without stirring. Simmer until it reaches 260ºF, being careful not to heat too quickly as the allulose can burn.
Once the syrup is at 260ºF, remove it from heat and beat the egg white to soft peaks. With the mixer running, slowly (and carefully as the syrup is very hot and can easily burn you) add in the cooked syrup while beating constantly. Add in any color, salt, and flavor and beat on high for 2-4 minutes, or until the mixture holds soft peaks and is glossy in appearance.
Transfer the marshmallow fluff to a piping bag and set aside.
To Assemble
Squeeze orange gel in circles on serving plates (if using a ziplock, trim a corner so that there is a small hole that you can use to pipe).
Unmold the ice cream/sorbet and place on top of the gel circle. Pipe marshmallow fluff around the ice cream and use a spoon to swirl it into a nice shape. Meanwhile, pipe small stars of marshmallow fluff around the plate for decoration.
Sprinkle the crushed honeycomb and candied almonds along the circle of orange gel.
Use a kitchen torch to gently brown the marshmallow on the ice cream.
Lay a tuile next to the the torched marshmallow and finally, garnish with edible petals, if using.
Notes
If you do not want to consume raw eggs, you can either buy eggs that are already pasteurized or do it yourself, if you have a sous vide machine. Simply heat to 135ºF for two hours. The egg will have a milky look to the white when you crack it but it is fine.Protein:Energy Quotient [calories]: 0.17, Protein % of calories: 10.2%