Vacherin, the popular French Ice Cream Cake is a celebratory dessert (gluten free). Just add a tub of sorbet, meringue and whipped cream.
I love how simple this recipe is. I remember the advent of Baskin Robbins in Glasgow at the end of the 70's and my first taste of an ice cream cake. Great memories and so simple to make. - Janice
What is a Vacherin Dessert?
A French Vacherin is an ice cream cake. Not to be confused with the round Vacherin cheese made of cow's milk, this celebration dessert is also round in shape.
Found in most pâtisseries in France, a classic Vacherin glacé is made up of a meringue base, topped with a layer or vanilla ice cream then raspberry sorbet and finished off with a Chantilly cream, sometimes laced with a little festive tipple and extra meringue around the sides of the cake.
Vacherin Dessert vs Pavlova
I've seen some Vacherins on the web that cause confusion, as they call themselves a Vacherin, but are actually pavlovas just with meringue, cream and fruit. So what's the difference between them?
Unlike a Vacherin, a Pavlova is also made of meringue and whipped cream but it's topped with fruit and no ice cream or sorbet is added. The vacherin is a complete ice cream cake with added meringue and cream.
A French Vacherin Ice Cream Birthday Cake
My French father-in-law, Jean-Pierre, adores a Vacherin cake. Each time we have a family reunion or party of some sort - whether it's a birthday or an excuse for a special dessert, he always orders a Vacherin Glacé from the local patisserie. It's such a French classic, that most patisseries sell them in the freezer, opposite the counter.
So, when Jean-Pierre ('le Toucan') was visiting recently, I made my own homemade Vacherin to surprise him for his 80th birthday.
La Vache! Pink Boobies...
Surprise, Jean-Pierre! I shocked even myself by a last-minute mind-blowing idea of adding pink colouring to the meringue. Not exactly a great idea for a very traditional Corsican father-in-law - but let's just say it continued the raspberry sorbet theme.
I loved how he totally ignored my pink boobies all around the cake, though. Luckily I had a few macaron shells handy to disguise them!
French Ice Cream Cake - Dessert Prepared in Advance
Moreover, a Vacherin is a perfect ice cream cake dessert made in advance. Just prepare the day before, the morning itself - or even a few days before.
If you prefer the Chantilly cream fresh and unfrozen, then add this at the last minute and enjoy adding your own personal decorations.
I added gold leaf, some pistachios and served cape gooseberries on the side, just as an excuse for some winter fruit, otherwise fresh raspberries are great.
How to Make a Vacherin Cake from Scratch
A Vacherin is more about organising the presentation of ice cream than an actual recipe, to be honest. Traditionally it's made with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet, but I used nougat ice cream with extra raspberry ripple in it. Pistachio ice cream would be wonderful too.
I make my own meringue base but you could buy yours or even make a macaron base out of it and stick raspberry macarons around the sides of the cake.
Warning: If you do buy macarons from a store, ensure they have not been frozen first - otherwise do not freeze and serve at the last minute.
First take an 18 cm/7 inch cake ring. Trace a circle on parchment paper. Whip the meringue until stiff peaks are easy to work with a piping bag and pipe it as a spiral in the ring. There's no need to add colouring; keep it white or add a little raspberry powder or food colouring if you prefer a raspberry meringue.
With the remaining meringue, pipe out little kisses. These will be stuck around the cake at the end.
Assembling the Ice Cream Cake Layers
While the meringue is baking in a coolish oven, use the cake ring to mould out both ice cream layers. The ice cream shouldn't be too hard, making it easy to spread it into the ring. For this part, you will need to act fast so that the ice cream is easy to work with (still frozen, not melted!).
Start with a layer of vanilla ice cream, then another layer with raspberry sorbet. Leave each layer to harden in the freezer for 30 minutes (see recipe card for full details).
Place the meringue disk as a base on a serving plate, and un-mould the ice cream layers on top of it. Then spread over with Chantilly Cream. To finish off, stick on the meringue kisses around the sides of the cake using more cream to hold.
NOTE: There's no need to add sugar to the Chantilly cream, as there's enough sugar in the meringue and ice cream.
Place in the freezer until dessert! This ice cream dessert is gluten free.
Vacherin Variations
Here are a few delicious variations to the French ice cream cake, instead of using the classic vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet combination:
- chestnut and vanilla (marron glacé)
- candied fruit (Plombières) no churn; no ice cream maker needed for this recipe
- lemon verbena (Verveine)
- Whisky or Drambuie no churn
- black sesame
- wasabi, pistachio, coconut and vanilla - it's unique!
- rhubarb sorbet with rose
The ultimate variation to this is a bûche de Noël glacée; this ice cream yule log is made with chestnut ice cream, clementines and candied chestnut - also gluten-free.
Vacherin Ice Cream Cake
Equipment
- stand mixer with whisk attachment
- 18cm / 7 inch cake ring or springform pan
Ingredients
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 100 g (3.5oz) sugar granulated or fine
- 100 g (3.5oz) icing sugar (confectioner's/powdered sugar)
Ice Cream
- 500 g (18oz) vanilla ice cream or other creamy, soft ice cream
- 400 g (14oz) raspberry sorbet or rhubarb sorbet
Chantilly Cream
- 300 g (10.5oz heavy whipping cream (crème fleurette 30% fat)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or few drops vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Chambord Liqueur (or Kirsch) (optional)
Decor (optional)
- pistachios
- fresh raspberries
Instructions
Meringue Layer & Decor
- Trace the cake ring circle on to parchment paper as a guide for the spiral and turn the paper upside down so you can still see it. Preheat the oven to 130°C/250°F (110°C fan/Gas ½).
- Using an electric whisk whip up the egg whites at low speed to soft peaks, then gradually add a third of the sugar until it starts to look brilliant. Then add the rest until the meringue has stiff peaks. Stop the whisk and fold in the icing sugar.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping bag with a plain, round tip and pipe out into a spiral disk on to the parchment paper. Using the rest of the meringue, either pipe out another spiral or pipe out small kisses or little meringues to be put on the sides of the cake. Bake in the cool oven for an hour.
Ice Cream & Sorbet Layers
- Using ice cream that's a little soft (for ease of use), place the cake ring on to a rimmed baking sheet and spread the ice cream into an even layer. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then repeat the process by topping with the sorbet. Freeze for another 30 minutes.
Chantilly Cream and Preparation
- Whip the heavy cream for about 5 minutes until thickened. (No need to add any sugar as there's enough sugar in the ice cream and meringue.) Once whipped into firm to medium peaks, add the liqueur (if using). Transfer the cream to a piping bag with a star tip.
- It needs quick work during this stage so that the ice cream doesn't melt.Place the meringue spiral on a serving plate then un-mould the ice cream/sorbet cake on top. Spread over a third of the cream all over the surface and stick on the meringue kisses around the sides, sticking on a little extra cream for each meringue. Finish off the rest of the cream by piping it out in a circle around the edges - use your decor imagination here! Either serve immediately or freeze for at least another 30 minutes until ready to serve.
June Stobie
I would rate this cake 6 stars if I could. Thank you so much Jill for making this special cake for my special birthday. I thought it was absolutely fabulous especially when it contained the macarons that Lucie made.
Jill Colonna
So happy you liked it, Mum. It was a joint effort to say we love you! With macarons made earlier, it was the ideal answer when we weren't in our own kitchen.
Sisley White
Ice cream cakes are so cool (pun not indended). They always remind me of birthday parties on holiday when I was little. I will have to try and make this myself.
Jill Colonna
Thanks Sisley - I love how it's fun, adaptable and always festive, whatever time of year!
Christina Conte
I've never had a vacherin, but oh, I would absolutely love it! Love everything about this dessert, especially that it can be made in advance! Great for summertime entertaining! Can't wait for this housebound stuff to be over so I can get on with cooking and baking normally!
Jill Colonna
Glad you like this, Christina. Yes, it's great for summertime but it's also very popular over Christmas and New Year too, so it's an ideal celebration cake. Here we're not quite housebound officially until tomorrow but so glad I've stocked up with raw materials to be able to pretend we're carrying on as normal for menus. We just need to be thrifty!
Choclette
Hahaha, love those pink boobies. It's almost a shame your father in law didn't spot them. Gosh, but it looks tempting, meringue cream AND ice-cream. Pinned.
Hoping you're OK. Are you actually tied to the house, or are you still allowed to go out?
Jill Colonna
Hehe - I think he saw these pink meringues but chose not to draw attention to them, which is just as well! Thanks, Choclette - this is our first day of no lycée, husband working from home officially and we are just waiting on our President to tell us tonight that we will be house-bound in isolation (as most people honestly don't appear to be taking this seriously yet it's getting serious). It has just been announced also that all Parisian parks are closing as of tonight. It makes sense! Bon courage with stocking up. Look after yourselves!
sherry
this looks very pretty, and it's delicious i'm sure. i think unfrozen cream on top would be wonderful. cheers sherry
Jill Colonna
Thanks - it certainly is good, Sherry. I wasn't liking the idea at first of freezing the cream but once I did it (like they do in the patisseries here), it so much easier to prepare the whole thing in advance.
Janice Pattie
I love how simple this recipe is. I remember the advent of Baskin Robbins in Glasgow at the end of the 70's and my first taste of an ice cream cake. Great memories and so simple to make.
Jill Colonna
Now I can just imagine how special that memory, Janice. Yes, it's so easy to make at home and now that we can't go to restaurants (since last night the French government have announced that all restaurants and cafés are closed due to the virus), all the more reason to make all the special occasions at home ourselves. Take care of yourself!