Almond & Apricot Frozen Terrine

Directions

1. Almond Praline
2. In a large saucepan mix the sugar, cream of tartar with 1/2 cup of water
3. Increase the heat without stirring until the mixture boils
4. Swirl the pan to move the mixture around until the syrup is a pale amber color (takes about five minutes)
5. In the mean time, line a baking sheet with wax paper
6. When the syrup is pale amber, add the chopped nuts, the cinnamon stick, the contents of the 1/4 vanilla pod and the pod itself
7. Stir the contents of the pan with a wooden spoon until all of the nuts are coated in the syrup
8. Continue cooking the mixture until most of the syrup has thickened up and become an even darker amber color (about 3 minutes)
9. Quickly pour nuts onto baking sheet and spread the nuts out
10. Let the praline set in a cool dry place for an hour, then roughly chop and store in an airtight container until needed

1. Non-Dairy Almond Ice Cream & Apricot Purée
2. Start with the ice cream: separate eggs and whisk sugar into egg yolks until the mixture becomes a pale yellow color
3. Bring the almond milk and coconut cream just to a simmer
4. Temper the eggs by adding the warm milk mixture very gradually into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking continually
5. Add the almond extract
6. Once eggs and milk have been combined return the whole mixture to the saucepan and cook until the mixture has reached 175 degrees Fahrenheit (to ensure that the eggs are cooked— alternatively you can dip a spoon in the mixture, and run your finger across the back of the spoon, if the mixture stays in place and does not run into the now clean streak on the spoon you can continue onto the next step)
7. Cool the mixture, ideally by placing your ice "cream" base in a bowl surrounded by ice
8. Once the base is at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit you can put it in the bowl of your ice cream maker and let the machine run for 25-30 minutes
9. While the ice cream is churning in the machine its time to make the apricot purée: first, put a pot of water on to boil
10. Score the end of each apricot in an "x" shape (the end of the apricot opposite from the stem. Do not cut too deep, just enough to go through the skin)
11. Once the water is boiling drop the apricots in gently and leave them in the water for two minutes
12. Prepare a bowl of ice water while the apricots are in the hot water
13. After two minutes, remove the apricots from the water with tongs and dunk them immediately into the ice water
14. Once the apricots are cool enough to handle, remove their skins and dice them
15. In the bowl of a blender or immersion mixer combine the apricots, the tablespoon of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Let the apricots macerate for at least an hour
16. Purée the apricots
17. To assemble the terrine: Line a loaf pan with saran wrap and put down an inch layer of the almond ice cream, add 1/3 of the apricot purée and then evenly distribute the praline over the apricot purée. Repeat and then top with another 1/2 inch of ice cream, or however much is necessary to fill the loaf pan
18. Cover the loaf pan with saran wrap or wax paper and freeze for 8 hours or overnight and up to five days. Reserve the purée and remaining praline for when you serve the terrine
19. When you are ready to serve the terrine, take it out of the freezer, run a knife around the edge to lose the terrine from the loaf pan and invert the terrine onto a plate. Cut 1 inch thick slices of the terrine with a sharp knife. In between cuts, wash and dry the knife. Serve each with a small spoonful of the apricot purée and some of the almond praline.