Coppi’s Chef Carlos Amaya: Deconstructed Apple with Brown Sugar and Brandy Reduction
Posted by melissamccart on November 15, 2007
My neighbor Beth had a tasting menu date with a friend at Coppi’s recently and raved about it the next day. Though she loved the entrees, I honed in on her e
nthusiasm for dessert: what she described as a deconstructed apple, hollowed out and drizzled with caramelized something. I had to have it.
Later in the week, I stopped by the restaurant–one of my favorites in the neighborhood –only to find that it’s never on the menu. “It’s a very easy date dessert,” he said. “And I only make it for special occasions.”
The recipe:
One Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, or equally tart apple per guest-one banana per guest-brandy-brown sugar-mint-vanilla ice cream
Instructions: Hollow out each apple and dice. Slice as many bananas as there are apples. Sautee apples and bananas on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar and a splash of brandy per apple. Mash as fruit softens.
When the apples are warmed and the sugar and brandy has carmelized, scoop fruit back into the apple, add a small scoop of ice cream over top, drizzle with carmelized reduction, and garnish with mint.
If you are a pastry moron like I am– using granulated sugar for frosting or baking angel food cakes that end up with huge craters–next time you have company for dinner, this is the dessert for you. The only awkward part of this is removing the apple, but if your paring knife is handy, it’s not a problem. A couple of pieces of advice: squeeze lemon juice into the apple immediately after coring so it doesn’t brown. Resist the temptation to mix the ice cream and the fruit before scooping it back into the apple, since the ice cream will bring the fruit to room temperature. And while prepping your dessert on the range is easier, it’ll be more like an apple pie if it’s baked in the oven instead.
Tomorrow, Chef Amaya has offered to do the demo and to offer suggestions on variations. I’ll post the results. I’m fairly sure it will be less melty and more lovely than mine.
mom said
this looks like something I used to make back in the 70’s but I used an orange with orange sherbet and a sprig of mint – what goes around comes around! Yours looks better, yum!
Restaurant Gal said
Love reading about a non-pastry dessert that sounds delicious! Oh, and I remember the orange sherbet dessert, too. Yum.
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