Rocky Road Ice Cream Macaron Sandwich with Almonds, Chocolate, and Marshmallows by Riccardo Menicucci

For Florentine Riccardo Menicucci, pastry is an art, since “creating a plated dessert requires as much attention to detail as crafting a beautiful object for your home.”

With this sensitivity and with his eyes set on California and the American way of life from a very young age, he has worked since 2021 as pastry chef at the legendary Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel in California.

Attentive to seasonal ingredients, he uses them when they are at their best. One of his favorite things is playing with endless textures and preparations, although his dishes rarely feature more than three flavors. Ice cream, of course, is one of his favorite textures. His ultimate obsession is always offering an optimal service that allows customers to enjoy his frozen offerings at the perfect temperature and texture when they arrive at the table.

In our international ice cream magazine, so cool.. magazine 2, he presents an ice cream macaron sandwich with a thoughtful presentation and clear, easy-to-identify flavors. “This sandwich is me going towards American flavors, but with a strong European influence. The Rocky Road is an old-fashioned American flavor with candied almonds, chocolate, and marshmallows. It’s delicious and fun to eat. The macaron cookie adds a European flare. They are trendy, and I personally love the chewy texture.” When serving, he presents it as if it were a hamburger, complete with a box.

Discover so cool.. magazine 2

Rocky Road Ice Cream Macaron Sandwich

Almond pecans

1000 g almonds, slivered
300 g sugar
50 g water
100 g butter

Boil the sugar and water to 116ºC. Add the almonds and consistently stir until the sugar crystalizes with the almond. Continue cooking while stirring the whole time until sugar is caramelized. Remove from the heat, add the butter and mix well. Transfer on a sheet pan with a Silpat and let cool. Store in a container.

Chocolate macaron

920 g TpT (powdered sugar and almond flour at equal parts)
60 g cocoa powder
436 g sugar
132 g water
195 g egg whites
195 g egg whites

Mix the TpT and cocoa powder well in the food processor. Add the first egg whites to make a paste.
Cook the water and sugar to 118ºC and slowly add to the whipping second egg whites to make an Italian meringue. Fold in the meringue to the paste not gently. Pipe the macaron on the French sheet pan.
Let it rest for 30 to 45 minutes, based on the humidity. Skin should be thin. Bake at 150ºC for 12 to 13 minutes.

Marshmallow

250 g sugar
100 g water
50 g glucose
8 g gelatin
90 g egg whites
20 g vanilla extract

Boil the water, sugar and glucose to 120ºC. Dissolve the bloomed gelatin and stir. Gently pour the syrup into the foamy egg whites, then the vanilla extract and whip on high until stiff and volume has tripled. Pipe into molds.

Chocolate gelato

2000 g milk
600 g cream
150 g milk powder
400 g sugar
120 g Trimoline
80 g glucose powder
12 g ice cream stabilizer
20 g vanilla paste
150 g Guanaja 70% dark chocolate
80 g cocoa powder
250 g candied almond
100 g marshmallow

Mix the glucose powder, cocoa powder and sugar and set it on the side. Heat up the milk, cream, milk powder, stabilizer, Trimoline and vanilla paste to 50ºC. Add the glucose powder and sugar mixture. Cook all the ingredients up to 84ºC. Pour over the chocolate and mix. Cool down the mixture. Portion into a Pacojet container. Freeze completely, spin in the Pacojet machine. Fold in the candied almond and marshmallow. Portion in a silicone disk mold. Let it freeze. Unmold and assemble with the chocolate macaron.

Montage

Let the macaron shells cool down and line them up in pairs to be assembled with chocolate gelato disk. Once assembled, dip half of the sandwich in dark chocolate. Decorate with candied almond and marshmallow before the chocolate sets to glue them together.

Discover the Chef Riccardo’s Affogato in so cool.. magazine 2