Title: Dried cherry nougat glace
 Categories: Taste
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
    1/2 c  Sugar
    1/4 c  Water
      1 c  Skinned hazelnuts
           Italian meringue:
    1/3 c  Sugar
      3 tb Lavender honey
    1/4 c  Water
      3    Egg whites
  1 1/2 c  Dried cherries
    1/4 c  Kirsch
      2 c  Heavy cream
 
  To make the praline, combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan and
  cook mixture, strring and washing down any sugar crystals with a
  brush dipped in water, until mixture is clear. Let it cook,
  undisturbed, until deep golden.
  
  To caramelized sugar add the hazelnuts. Stir to coat.
  
  Oil a marble slab. Pour the mixture onto the marble, smooth it into
  even layer and let it cool completely. Once cooled, chop into
  approximately 1/4- inch pieces.
  
  To make the Italian meringue, combine in a pan the sugar, lavender
  honey,
  
  and the water. Cook it following same procedure as for praline, until
  a candy thermometer registers hard ball stage 248 degrees.
  
  Beat 3 egg whites to soft peaks. With machine running add, in a
  stream, the cooked sugar syrup. Beat until completely cool.
  
  Macerate 1 1/2 cups dried cherries in 1/4 cup kirsch for 30 minutes.
  Then drain over a bowl
  
  Whip 2 cups heavy cream.
  
  Fold half the praline, half the drained cherries and half the whipped
  cream into the meringue. Then do it again. Transfer to an 8 cup
  terrine, lined with plastic wrap. Cover mold with plastic wrap and
  freeze overnight. Unmold, remove the plastic wrap, and slice.
  
  Yield 10 to 12 servings.