The Chef
Thomas Keller Per Se

Servings
Serves 6

Ingredients
Vanilla-Bean Ice Cream
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split
3⁄4 cup sugar
10 egg yolks

Toasted-Almond Sablé
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 vanilla beans
3 cups almonds, roasted in a 325-degree oven until golden brown, finely chopped
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour

Chocolate Liquid Crunch
2 ounces bittersweet Valrhona 70 percent chocolate
1 1⁄2 ounces extra-bitter Valrhona 70 percent chocolate
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Cooking Instructions
Vanilla-Bean Ice Cream
Bring the milk, cream, vanilla bean, and half the sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to steep for 1 hour.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar until smooth and slightly thickened. Gradually whisk 1⁄3 of the liquid into the yolks, return this mixture to the saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until it coats the back of the spoon. Strain this custard into a container, and chill in an ice bath. When the custard has cooled, cover it, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Transfer to an ice-cream machine, and process according to directions.

Toasted-Almond Sablé
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Beat together the sugar, butter, and salt in a mixer fitted with a paddle. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans into the creamed butter.

Add 2 cups of the chopped almonds, then mix in the cake flour until well combined. Roll this sablé dough into a 3-inch-diameter log, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 hours. Cut the log into 1⁄4-inch-thick slices. Place these sablé cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until golden brown, about 8 to10 minutes. Cool the sablés on the sheet.

Chocolate Liquid Crunch
Melt the two chocolates together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, add coconut oil, and heat until dissolved. Keep the liquid lukewarm until ready to pour over the ice cream.
TO SERVE: Place one sablé on each plate, and top with a large rounded scoop of ice cream. Drizzle the chocolate liquid crunch over the ice cream until covered, and serve immediately.

Photograph by Sang An