Cook like a Spicers Chef – The Peak Restaurant

The Peak Restaurant, Spicers Peak, Maryvale, Queensland
Minh Le, Head Chef

Stanthorpe apple parfait, blue cheese snow, cheese milk crisp
Serves 8

Apple parfait 
100g apple puree
300ml milk
300ml full cream
100g caster sugar
1g gellan gum
100ml fresh apple juice
8 apple stalks

Bring the apple puree, milk, cream and caster sugar to the boil then strain.
Pour into round silicon moulds the size of a small apple.
Set in the freezer until hard.
Stir the gellan gum in the apple juice until dissolved.
Remove the frozen apple parfait balls from the moulds.
Once only, dip into the balls into the apple juice solution.
Make a small indent in the top to form the shape of an apple then garnish with an
apple stalk. Retain in the freezer until serving.

Blue cheese milk crisp
200ml milk
80g blue cheese
Salt to taste
50g corn flour
10ml water
Bring milk, cheese and salt to the boil.
With the cornflour and water, make smooth slurry.
Whisk the slurry into the milk until thickened.
Allow to cool slightly then thinly spread this mixture onto baking paper.
Dehydrate overnight at 90C.
Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Lime meringue
2 egg whites
125g caster sugar
Whisk sugar and egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Place into a fine point piping bag.
Blue cheese snow
50g blue cheese
150ml oil
500g maltodextrin

Blend the blue cheese and oil together.
Strain. Retain the oil only.
Whisk the oil and maltodextrin together until it forms a texture of grainy snow.

To serve
Place one apple parfait onto each plate.
Sprinkle the plate with blue cheese snow.
Garnish with blue cheese milk crisps.
Pipe small points of lime meringue onto the plate.