Strawberry Granita with Champagne Sabayon and Coconut Tuiles

Strawberry granita is just one part of this elegant composed dessert that I learned how to make while helping Loretta Keller make pastries in her San Francisco restaurant Bizou which she later transformed into Coco 500. A granita is shaved ice and this recipe with fresh ripe strawberries has an intense flavor of fresh fruit. To make granita you need to start with the ripest produce you can find in order to get the biggest flavor. I noticed the price of strawberries has come down, they looked ripe and perfect for granita in the market. Citrus juice, simple syrup and a splash of crème de cassis are the only other ingredients in this frozen summer treat. Of course granitas can be served plain for a light dessert but when you try a small ladle full of chilled sabayon as a topping with a coconut tuile on the side you may find your strawberry granita elevated to a whole other place.

Recipe for the Strawberry Granita
Makes about 2 quarts

3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 quart hulled fresh strawberries
2 oranges, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
1 tablespoon crème de cassis

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved. Let it cool and refrigerate until cold. In a blender purée the strawberries, chilled sugar syrup, lemon juice, orange juice and crème de cassis. Let the mixture settle for a few minutes and strain twice to remove strawberry seeds. Pour the mixture into a metal 9 X 13 pan and put in the freezer for 30 minutes then give it a stir. Continue freezing for about 2 & 1/2 hours, giving it a stir every 30 minutes. Serve it by scraping the frozen strawberry purée with a fork into a glass bowl or cup. Cover the rest or transfer into a storage container for the freezer.


Chilled sabayon was a staple at Bizou and Loretta's favorite recipe was from Emily Luchetti whom she worked with at Stars, another San Francisco institution that is no longer in business. Sabayon is from Northern Italy where it is made with Marsala wine and called zabaglione. I remember my mother making sabayon in the kitchen for dessert after a dinner party. She served it warm over berries and I still remember that beautifully scented thick but frothy pudding as a delicious freshly made dessert. I learned how to make sabayon from Loretta and we made gallons of it for the restaurant with the whipped cream folded in while it chilled over an ice bath. I think it gave me a tennis elbow but it sounds cooler to say sabayon elbow but I'm not sure if that is a recognized term?? Anyway she was nice and gave me a beautiful heavy copper bowl for a gift, she probably doesn't remember and hopefully she won't see this and ask for it back!

Recipe for Champagne Sabayon
From Emily Luchetti 'Stars Desserts'
Yields 5 cups

8 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup champagne or sparkling wine
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Combine the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a large stainless or copper bowl. Whisk in the champagne. Make an ice bath with a larger bowl of ice and water, set aside. Place the first bowl over a pot of boiling water and whisk the egg mixture vigorously for 5-8 minutes, until it is thick
and tripled in volume. The sabayon should mound slightly when dropped from the whisk. Place the bowl over the ice bath and whisk until cold. Pour the cream into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on high speed until soft peaks form. Fold the cream into the sabayon. Refrigerate until ready to serve. It can be made a day ahead.

Loretta brought this recipe for coconut tuiles back from her first trip to France. I made a giant batch of them for a New Year's Eve dinner at Bizou but most of them did not see the light of day due to a slight problem with the tuiles not being crispy or dry enough, they lost their cute tuile shape in storage the day before the event! I think a few were salvaged.

She also brought back these cool tuile racks from France which I use whenever I make tuiles. Honestly, I don't remember if she gave me this or loaned it to me???

Recipe for Coconut Tuiles
from Loretta Keller
Makes 6-8 dozen

5 egg whites
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup medium shredded unsweetened dried coconut

Preheat the oven to 375°F
Line 2 cookie sheets with silpats

Beat egg whites and sugar together in a large bowl for 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla, melted butter, flour , salt and coconut to the bowl. Stir together until evenly combined. Chill for 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator. Place teaspoons of the chilled dough evenly spaced on the cookie sheets. Use a small offset spatula to smooth dough into small circles, allowing some space between the cookies. Bake for 4-5 minutes, remove quickly from the cookie sheets and place into a mold for the tuile shape. If the tuiles get too hard to fold into the mold you can put them back in the oven for a minute to soften.