Tag: Desserts

Desserts

Crème Caramel (all yolk version)

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IMG_0003-1For a long time I wanted to make Crème Caramel since it’s one of those French desserts I really enjoy. When I was recently left with six egg yolks after clarifying some stock the time was ripe.

Normally Crème Caramel, a free-standing custard, is made with milk, cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Since I was stuck with my egg yolks I “had” to make a kind of super-rich version with double cream to boot. It was rather nice though, with January being a cold and miserable month.

The only pitfalls would be making the caramel, which in my opinion should be rather dark to give a bitter contrast to the creamy sweetness, and also to bake the creme caramels. Like Crème Brûlée it’s easy to overdo it so check the Crème Caramels carefully towards the end of the cooking.

Ingredients for the Crème Caramel:
400g double cream
75g whole milk
6 medium egg yolks
1 medium egg
120g caster sugar
0.5 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod
150g caster sugar for the caramel

Preparing the Crème Caramel:
Start by preheating the oven to 140C non-fan.
Heat the cream and milk in a pot, let it boil briefly and then let cool.
Place the egg yolks and egg, 120g sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl and mix softly with a whisk. Be careful not to produce any foam, since foam would lead to bubbles in the crème caramel later.
Stir in the cream-milk-mixture carefully. Set aside.

Melt the remaining sugar until you desired caramel stage and then pour it into 6 ramekins (approx 100 ml each). Let cool until the caramel sets. Pour custard cream carefully on top.

Prepare a baking tray by placing some parchment paper at the bottom of the tray, then place the ramekins on top of the parchment paper. Pour in boiling water in the tray, you want the ramekins to stand in about two fingers width deep water. Pour the rest of the water in when the baking tray is in the oven if that is easier. Cover the baking tray with parchment paper when it’s in the oven.

Place the baking tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake the creme caramel for about 50 – 60 minutes. Checking the Crème Caramels consistency by jiggling the ramekins towards the end of the cooking time. Remove cups from baking tray, let chill and place into fridge for 4 – 6 hours.
To serve, dip the bottm of the ramekin briefly in a bowl of boiling water then run a small sharp knife around the edge of each bowl and turn upside down on plates.

Desserts

Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream

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I got this recipe from Ideas in Food and it’s an amazing ice cream. A bit like a mix between vanilla and caramel ice cream and with some toasted notes as well.
The only changes I’ve done is to use vanilla pods instead of vanilla powder (my local store was out) and I charred it three times instead of two. If you want more of the burnt caramel note you can char it more times.
You can order guar gum online.

Ingredients for the Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream:
160g sugar
2.8g salt
1.9g guar gum
400g heavy cream
400g whole milk
10g vanilla paste
2 big vanilla pods, around 1.4 g vanilla seeds (Ideas in Food recipe uses 2 g vanilla powder)

Preparing the Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream:
Put the sugar, salt, and guar gum in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Put the cream and milk in a blender and turn it on medium. Pour the sugar mixture into the vortex and puree until the sugar is dissolved, 10-15 seconds. Add the vanilla paste and vanilla powder to the blender and increase the speed to medium high and puree for 15 seconds. Turn the blender off and pour the ice cream base into a metal bowl. Use a butane torch to burn the surface of the ice cream. When the surface is roughly charred, stir the mixture with a whisk and char the surface one more time. Repeat the whisking, charring and whisking a third time (or more if you want). Transfer the mixture along with the empty vanilla pods to a covered container and refrigerate for at least four hours and up to overnight. Remove the vanilla pods and then churn the ice cream in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.

The ice cream is good served with some warm stewed raspberries or similar fruit.

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Desserts

Clementine Sorbet

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The use of fructose (fruit sugar) instead of sucrose in this sorbet gives it an incredible tangy flavour.

Ingredients for the Clementine Sorbet:
750g clementine juice (about 2.5 kilos of clementines)
125g fructose
One leaf of gelatin

Preparing the Clementine Sorbet:
Half the clementines and squeeze the juice out of them. Bloom the gelatin leaf in a bit of cold water.
Put the fructose and 125g of the clementine juice (passed through a sieve) into a sauce pan. Bring to the boil until the fructose dissolves. Squeeze as much water as possible from the gelatin and add it to the sauce pan while stirring to dissolve. Take off the heat. Add the rest of the juice (passed through a sieve) to the pan.
Transfer to a jug and store in the fridge until very cold.
Pour the mixture into your ice-cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until frozen.

Desserts

Chocolate Ice-Cream with Raspberries

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chocolate_icecream2-1Chocolate ice cream is always great and if you make it with a good chocolate it will be fantastic.
I used Valrhona Guanaja 70 % chocolate that you can buy in 200 g bars for cooking with. The chocolate taste fantastic and melts beautifully into the Creme Anglaise, creating a silky smooth ice cream without any graininess.

I recently started using Clarence Court Burford Brown eggs. They are fantastic eggs with a deep yellow orange yolk.

This makes enough for about 2-3 persons.

Ingredients for the chocolate ice cream:
100 g chocolate (50 – 70 %), finely chopped
70 g caster sugar
3 medium egg yolks
150 ml double cream
150 ml whole milk

Preparing the chocolate ice cream:
Bring the cream, milk and 46 g of the sugar slowly to the boil in preferably a non stick pot while stirring occasionally. At the same time, whisk together the egg yolks and 24 g of the sugar in a glass bowl until it reaches light ribbon consistency.

Temper the yolk mixture by slowly poring over the warm milk mixture while whisking vigorously, when the first bit of milk is incorporated you can poor a bit quicker. A bit like making a mayonnaise.

You have to go slow at the beginning so that you don’t scramble the eggs.

When all the milk is incorporated poor the mixture back into the pot and heat gently over a low to medium heat while stirring with a wooden or silicone spatula. A bit like making a risotto.

When the custard thickens a bit draw a line with your finger through the custard on the spatula. If your finger leaves a line without the custard flowing back together it’s finished. Take it off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted.

Set a glass or metal bowl into your sink or a bigger bowl and fill the sink with cold water and a few ice cubes. Poor the chocolate custard into the small bowl through a fine meshed sieve or chinois.

Stir occasionally until the custard is cooled down.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ingredients for the raspberries:
300 g raspberries
25 g caster sugar
1 lemon

Preparing the raspberries:
Put the raspberries in a bowl and poor sugar and lemon juice over them. With a light hand, toss together the raspberries with the sugar and lemon juice.

Leave to macerate for 30 minutes in room temperature. This will boost the flavor of the raspberries.

Desserts

Raspberry Sorbet

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This is a wonderful and incredibly fruity sorbet, especially when raspberries are in season.

Ingredients for the raspberry sorbet:
600 g raspberries
100 g caster sugar
Freshly squeezed lemon juice from about half a lemon

Preparing the raspberry sorbet:
Wash the raspberries. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and lemon juice, mixing as you go so all the raspberries are covered by sugar and lemon juice.
Set aside to macerate for 30 minutes at room temperature (this will boost the flavor of the raspberries).
Puree the macerated raspberries in a blender. Push the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to get rid of the seeds.
Pour the raspberry puree into your ice-cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until frozen.

Desserts

Tarte Tatin

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tatin3Tarte Tatin is one of my favorite desserts. The sumptuous combination of tart apples, sweet caramel och crispy pastry is great after a dinner in the autumn.
I used Golden Delicious apples for my Tarte Tatin since they are the type of apples typically used. Either way, use firm dessert apples and not cooking apples since you want the apples to keep their shape and not disintegrate too much.

Ingredients for the tarte tatin:
1 kilo apples (preferably Golden Delicious)
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp pectin powder
100 g unsalted butter
200 ml caster sugar
All butter puff pastry, rolled out to a 32 cm disc.

Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preparing the tarte tatin:
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into 2 mm slices. Mix the vanilla sugar and pectin powder and then mix together with the apples. The pectin binds the juice from the apples during the baking so the tarte doesn’t end up too sticky.
Melt the butter in a cast iron frying pan (about 22 cm in diameter) over medium heat. Poor over the sugar and let it melt to a brownish caramel.
Distribute the apple slices in the pan in a circular fashion. Press them down a bit to make the tarte even. Cover with a lid and let the apples stew for 10 minutes, remove the lid and cook for about another 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the apples cool to room temperature.
Put the pastry over the pan and press it down over the apples. Clean up the edges with a paring knife. Pierce the pastry with a fork all over.
Put the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes. Turn on the oven, 225 C.
Put the pan in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 175 C and bake for another 20 minutes until the pastry is nice and golden.
Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Flip the tarte upside-down on a serving plate and serve.
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Desserts

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

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pannacottaOne of my favorite desserts.

Ingredients for the vanilla panna cotta:
50 ml whole milk
330 ml double cream
1.5 sheets of gelatin
55 g sugar
1.5 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
0.5 cap dark rum

Preparing the vanilla panna cotta:
Start by putting the ramekins you will use for the panna cotta in the fridge to cool them.
Bloom the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, meanwhile mix the milk, cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Split the vanilla pods lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the mixture and also put in the vanilla pods. Take off the heat.
Take out the gelatin sheets from the water and squeeze them to get rid of as much water as possible. Drop them into the mixture and stir constantly until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Pour in the rum.
Prepare an ice bath by putting a bit of cold water and ice cubes in a metal big bowl. But a jug inside the bowl and a fine mesh strainer on top. Strain the mixture into the jug and stir until the mixture thickens a bit, this will help to suspend the vanilla seeds.
Bring the ramekins out of the fridge and poor the mixture into them.
Cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge.
Allow at least 2 hours for the panna cotta to set.

Ingredients for the raspberry coulis:
300 g raspberries
75 g sugar
Juice from half a lemon

Preparing the raspberry coulis:
Whizz the raspberries in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.

Desserts

Vanilla Ice-Cream and Strawberry Coulis

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vanilla_icecreamClassic and simple summer dessert.

Ingredients for the vanilla ice cream:
250 ml whole milk
500 ml double cream
6 large egg yolks
150 g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the vanilla ice cream:
Heat the sugar, salt, milk and 250 ml of the cream in a medium saucepan. When hot scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the saucepan.
Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let the vanilla infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk mixture then gradually pour some of the mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula (draw a line with your finger across the spatula, if the custard doesn’t float back together it’s ready). You can use an instant read thermometer, it should read between 77 and 79 C when the custard is ready.

Strain the custard into the cream, add the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean then stir until cooled down.
Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ingredients for the strawberry coulis:
250 g strawberries
50 g sugar
Juice from about half a small lemon

Preparing the strawberry coulis:
Rinse and hull the strawberries. Whizz them in a food processor with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved and the coulis smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if needed.
Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then transfer to a squeeze bottle for later juice.

Desserts

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

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This was one of the best ice creams I’ve ever had.
Don’t be fooled by the “Salted” part of the name… the salt (use as much or little as you want) lifts the flavors to great effect.
This is pure indulgence so you’d want some acidic fruit or berry to cut through the richness… or just enjoy it on it’s own.

Ingredients for the salted butter caramel ice cream:
500 ml whole milk, divided
300 g sugar
60 g salted butter
Scant ½ teaspoon sea salt (preferably fleur de sel, otherwise Maldon)
250 ml heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparing the salted butter caramel ice cream:
Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.)
Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 250 ml of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read between 71 – 77 C.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a small bowl (enough for 2 l) in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Set a fine mesh strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the rest of the milk into the bowl.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla extract, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Transfer to a jug and chill until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Desserts

Blackberry-Lime Sorbet

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Very nice fruity sorbet. The lime juice adds a nice touch besides the blackberries.

Ingredients for the blackberry-lime sorbet:
450 g blackberries
1 leaf of gelatine
150 g caster sugar
180 ml water
180 ml freshly squeezed lime juice (about 9 limes)

Preparing the blackberry-lime sorbet:
Heat the sugar and the water to create a syrup. When the sugar is completely dissolved in the water take it off the heat. Bloom the leaf of gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes then drop it into the syrup and stir until it dissolves. Let the syrup and gelatine mixture cool to room temperature.
Puree the blackberries in a blender and then pass them through a fine sieve to get rid of the seeds. Mix in the syrup and gelatine mixture with the blackberry puree then add the lime juice.
Chill the mixture thoroughly (I put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes) and then churn in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.