Gateau De Mousse A La Nectarine

Photo: flickr user miheco

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds nectarines

1/2 cup sugar

5 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup peach schnapps

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, well chilled

genoise cake (see recipe)

1/4 cup sugar

cup peach schnapps

1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

3/4 cup peach preserves or jam

3 tablespoons peach schnapps

Preparation

Halve, pit, and chop nectarines and, in a heavy saucepan, combine them with sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring, and cook it at a slow boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. In a food processor, puree the mixture and force it through a fine sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on the solids. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the lemon juice and schnapps, let it soften for 5 minutes, then heat mixture over low heat, stirring, until gelatin has dissolved.

Chill for 2 hours, or until it is set. Peach Glaze: In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 3 Tbsp cold water and let it soften for 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, combine the preserves and schnapps, bring mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer it for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat, add gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved, and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on the solids.

Assembly: Pour all but about 2 Tbsp of Peach Glaze over top of the mousse cake, covering it completely, and chill the cake for 2 hours, or until glaze is set. While cake is chilling, in a food processor, grind the remaining Genoise layer into fine crumbs. Toast the crumbs in a jelly-roll pan in a preheated 350f oven for 5-8 minutes or until they are golden.

Reserve. Cut half the nectarine into thin slices, and arrange them decoratively on top of the cake in a pinwheel pattern. Brush the remaining glaze over the nectarine slices and chill the cake, covered, for 1 hour, or until the newly applied glaze is set. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan and remove the side of the pan. Working over a sheet of wax paper, coat sides of cake with the cake crumbs. Let cake stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.