Iconic Desserts - Vacherin

Nevertheless, the name of this sweet delicacy was chosen in reference to the shape and color of the eponymous cheese - Vacherin-Mont d'Or - whose paternity is disputed between the Swiss and the Franc-Comtois. Made only in winter using cow's milk (vacherin was the cheese of... cowherds), this soft speciality with a creamy texture, off-white in color and cylindrical in shape, can be eaten with a spoon, straight from its round wooden case!

In its traditional version, the dessert known as vacherin consists of an envelope of French meringue surrounding vanilla ice cream and/or sorbet (sometimes with confit fruit) and decorated with chantilly. It can be accompanied by a raspberry, strawberry or chocolate coulis.

Originally, this was an unglazed cake, probably originating in Switzerland, and made of a sablé dough base on which almond paste crowns were mounted. In 1873, in his book Le Livre de Pâtisserie, Jules Gouffé - a former pupil of Antonin Carême and ex-cook to Napoléon III - described "the vacherin as it is made in Switzerland [...]: it is always a base and a ring of almond paste.” He points out that the French prefer to replace almond paste with meringues (Marie- Antoinette, it seems, liked to make vacherins at her Trianon estate by spooning the meringue, as the piping bag with a nozzle had not yet been invented). Gouffé also indicates that the vacherin's cream can be flavored with vanilla or chocolate ("we add chocolate to the vanilla, which we loosen with syrup to mix it with the Chantilly and decorate the vacherin with white Chantilly"), as well as coffee, strawberries or raspberries. The famous chef also points out that "the quality of the vacherin depends on the cream.”

Originally an unglazed cake born in Switzerland

The iced version of the vacherin is said to have been perfected in Lyon at the end of the 19th century (according to La Grande Histoire de la pâtisserie-confiserie française). Its invention is sometimes attributed to chef Gustave Garlin, who came up with this iced variation in 1887. The recipe appears in Le cuisinier moderne, one of Garlin's many culinary works. However, there's nothing to suggest that he's the inventor of the ice cream cake... In Austria, there's a cake that's similar to the vacherin: the Spanish Windtorte, which curiously translates as "Spanish wind" (the word "wind" was used in the 17th century to designate meringue). This dessert takes the form of a meringue shell filled entirely with whipped cream, ice cream and red berries, and is covered with a decorated meringue disc. Around the cake are candied violets.

Today, top chefs are turning their attention to vacherin and revisiting it with new ingredients 

Today, a number of patissiers and ice- cream makers are revamping the classic iced vacherin by revisiting (often in a lighter, less sweet version) the trio of ice cream, meringue and whipped cream that made this dessert such a success. Top chefs are taking an interest in it, contributing to its resurgence on our plates. They integrate new ingredients (fruit marmalade or confits, raw cream, fontainebleau, almond cream, coconut milk foam...), playing with colors and shapes ("deconstructed", spherical, etc.), creating new combinations of textures (almond sponge cake and creamy mousse), flavors (strawberry-yuzu, chestnut-matcha or rhubarb- wild strawberry coulis or sorbets) and tastes (jasmine gel for a floral note, balsamic vinegar caramel for a touch of acidity).

There’s no vacherin without meringue

The ability of egg whites to form "snow" when beaten vigorously appears to have been used in pastry-making only from the Renaissance onwards. In the following century (the 17th), François de la Varenne's provided a recipe for "snow eggs" and "snow sugar cookies" for Le cuisinier François, which corresponds more or less to the recipe for Italian meringue.