This fits in the category “entremet” in France.

Entremet literally means “entre“= between and “met“= meal. In the 17e century, it refers to a meal that is served after roastbeef, and before dessert. It evolved from a savory dish to a sweet one, nowadays all entremets are sweet. They are classified into three categories: hot entremets: Souffles, pudding, crepes, etc…; cold entremets: Flans, blanc-manger, etc…entremets with ice cream: mousses, sorbets, etc…

Blanc-manger goes back to Antiquity so it’s not a modern dessert. It’s literally translated into blanc = white, and manger= eat, due to its very white color. Originally, it’s made with milk, almonds and thickened with corn or potato starch. In the 18e century, they started using gelatin so I went with that recipe as well. Sometimes blanc-manger can be confused with panna cotta, which is cooked cream, sugar and gelatin. Nowadays when talking about blanc-manger, it’s usually referring to the recipe made with milk, almonds, cream, and gelatin.

This version is a bit different, I could call it revisited. I used almond milk, but the kind made with only almond and water from the brand “three trees” sold at Whole Foods in the refrigerated section. You have to look for the real almond milk, and not the one with added thickeners, and other unknown ingredients. It’s really delicious and natural. Then I used whipped coconut cream and I flavored the whole thing with almond extract. You can flavor it with vanilla or any other flavor of your choice.

Coconut cream can be whipped. You need to place a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator until very cold, and the mixing bowl you will be using to whip it as well. Then, take the thick part of the milk that lays on top of the can, and whip it. You can use heavy cream if you prefer.

Fruit compote is a lovely addition to this light dessert. Peaches and apricots are delicious with almond flavor, even though apricots are not at their best yet.

Ingredients for 3-4 (depending on the size of your cups)

For the blanc-manger

• 300 ml almond milk (the natural kind)
• 100 ml whipped coconut cream
• 4 tbs of sweetener of your choice (I used stevia)
• 4 gelatin sheets
• Almond extract

For the peach-apricot coulis

• 1 white nectarine, cut in pieces
• 1 large apricot, cut in pieces
• 1 large apricot, seed removed, and quartered
• 1 yellow peach, cut in peaces
• 1 tbs sweetener of your choice
• 3 tbs orange juice

Instructions

For the blanc-manger

Soak gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, or until gelatin has softened. Boil almond milk with sweetener. Remove from heat and place gelatin sheet in milk, stirring until dissolved. Let it cool.

Whip coconut cream and add to the milk. Pour in small bowls, and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

For the coulis

Cook the cut fruits in a small pot with orange juice and sweetener until the fruits are soft. Let it cool.

Blend until smooth consistency.

I have always wanted to make my own almond milk, but I thought it would be too difficult to make a good one, so I left that project on the side, thinking oh well, maybe one day.

Recently, I have been particularly interested in almonds and their nutritional benefits, eating them, cooking and baking with them, etc…so from one thing to another, I finally decided to make almond milk…and wow is that easy. If I knew it would have been so easy, I would have tried a lot sooner.

I drink store bought almond milk on a daily basis, and today after looking at the ingredients, I was a little shocked. I had not idea that the milk contained 18 ingredients such as, tapioca, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, d-alphatocopherol, etc…and a bunch of other ingredients I have never heard of, so that gave me the motivation to make my own with only two ingredients.

So even though you have to soak almonds in water overnight, the process is very very simple…the most time consuming would be perhaps to peel the almonds, but they do peel very easily after soaking.

I love this almond milk, you get of course the nutty flavor of the almonds but its texture is really smooth. It’s a lot whiter than the store bought and less thick, but it definitely is more wholesome and natural with tons of nutrients and vitamins.

The other great thing about making your own almond milk is that you can use the left over “pulp” (or ground almonds that you obtain when you filter the milk), to make cakes, desserts, etc… The delicious almond cake recipe I made with the leftover almonds, will come in my next post. Out of 200 grams of almonds you get about 1 cup of ground almonds.

Don’t buy almond milk any longer, make your own!

Ingredients:

• 7 oz (or 200 gr) peeled almonds
• 3 cups (or 700 ml) filtered water
• 1 tsp agave nectar (optional)

Instructions:

Soak almonds overnight in 2 cups water. Peel them. In a blender mix almonds, water and agave nectar. Blend a few times for about 40 seconds until the mixture is homogenous and almonds are crushed.

Filter milk mixture through a thin sieve squeezing well to get all the water out. Place almond milk in a container and refrigerate. Keep the “pulp” or paste to bake.