Raspberry Blanc-Manger

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. She selected the Raspberry Blanc-Manger, check out Susan’s blog for the complete recipe. What is a blanc-manger? The translation of the French is not so helpful. This is similar to panna cotta, sort of a pudding, a whipped cream dessert that uses gelatin to hold its form. This version contains ground almonds, which I understand is traditional, and fresh raspberries, which is not.

I wasn’t looking forward to this recipe, maybe because I really didn’t know what it would be like. I didn’t know if it would be hard to make. It was actually very quick to put together, it used quite a few bowls, pots, and pans, but other than that it was quite simple. I had a friend visiting while I made this, and she helped me out so that made it seem even easier. She got to learn a few new things about baking (although nothing in this recipe is actually baked), and I got some help. It was a lot of fun.

The basis of this recipe is whipped cream, to which you add some sugar, ground almonds, and gelatin. You fold that all together and then fold in the raspberries. I think I have finally conquered my fear of folding, and my friend got to fold something for the first time. Spoon it into a pan and then refrigerate for a couple of hours until set. I was a little worried that I hadn’t greased the pan or anything, but the recipe didn’t say to, so I hoped it would be ok. To unmold it from the pan, you dip the pan in hot water and then invert it on to a serving plate. And you hope that it comes out of the pan. Mine came out fine, not on the first try, so I dipped the pan in the water again and it came out fine the second try.

I’d never made anything like this before and I liked it. The texture was nice and light, not too sweet, but quite rich. The texture is sort of like a whipped cheesecake, but the flavor is different, not the heaviness that a cheesecake sometimes has. The almonds have a good flavor and the raspberries add their own sweetness and a little bit of tartness. My husband said that it reminds him of rice pudding. I wonder what this would taste like frozen? I think that would be great! I was pleasantly surprised by this. It was quick and easy to put together and was very impressive in the end.

Recipe from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 398-399.